


Hypnotic Poison

by MasterTickleBack



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-04-15 00:28:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4586088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterTickleBack/pseuds/MasterTickleBack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossposted at AsianFanFics @LadyTickleBack</p><p>Mark is playing with dark magic. He knows it. He found this old book hidden under a floor board in the library. His part time job at the school's library forced him to vacuum the place. A floor board got stuck and the book was revealed together with a clear perfume flask with a green liquid. A disgusting green liquid Mark noted. From then on, everything goes wrong, but is all bad always for the worst?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. P r o l o u g e

**Author's Note:**

> AN:// This chapter is in lack of better words disgusting and will most likely traumatize some of you, so those with weak souls, minds or hearts should skip the part between stars(*) for sure. This is the only chapter that will be of this kind but it's important for the plot to have.

The sun was shining through small splotches of fluffy clouds and peaceful waves washed onto the sandy beach. Yi En cracked open one eye to look at his parents next to him, simply to make sure they were enjoying themselves as much as he was. His mom was reading a book with her legs slightly bent on the sunbed, her straw-hat aiding a shadow for the alabaster skin on her face. His father was laying next to her on his stomach, sleeping soundlessly. A lone shameless seagull shrieked and roamed somewhere above them in search of food, but Yi En didn’t pay it any attention. He closed his eyes to the serene moment and let himself doze off.

Everything was silent around him. Nothing made a sound except an occasional dripping echo in the distance. It sounded like a dripping tap in a sink, except louder. The sounds of waves crashing on the beach and the occasional shriek from the seagull were gone as well.  
Instantly Yi En knew something was wrong. His parents wouldn’t just carry him away. They would always buy ice cream when they went home. They both knew Yi En loved ice cream, so they would at least wake up him up when they reached the store.  
Yi En hadn’t noticed until then, but he felt a cold chill envelop his body, making his skin erupt with stubborn goosebumps. A disgusting smell of moist fungus, something rotting and metallic reached his nose and made his physically sick. His stomach contracted and acidic bile rose in his throat. The metallic smell was somewhat sweet and maybe a bit rusty. Yi En concluded he was near rusty metal from the smell.   
He didn’t know for how long he had been laying there with his eyes closed. It could have been a second, or it could be hours. He felt his muscles tense under his skin as adrenaline surged through his body with blinding haste. His fingers moved on the surface where he was laying. It was cold, like stone, and completely smooth with the exception of small random straight scratches perpendicular to his position.  
Yi En’s eyes open slowly. He was scared of what was meeting him. If he opened them slowly enough, whatever was in the room might go easy on him. He opened his eyes and he was met with a blinding, green light. It was mysterious and didn’t seem to have a source. It was like the light came from above but there was no lamps to emit the glow. There were no windows nor any other sources of natural light. The only visible sources of it were two lamp posts next to him, but they let out white light. Not green like the hue of the room.  
The room was creeping him out. If he had to compare it to something he knew of, he would say it was an abandoned underground church. The two rows of run down benches in white marble that created what would be the aisle underlined his point together with columns down each side. The columns were overgrown with plants similar to vines and appeared even more dark and discomforting than they would in the wild.  
Yi En moved to sit up straight but was cut off by restraints. The first thing he noticed was the one tied around his neck. It was heavy on his throat, restricting his air supply but not enough to cause him harm. He felt how the metal it was made of was cut in two, exposing his adam's apple. Other cuffs were tied around his wrists and ankles and pulled him down heavily. He didn’t stand a chance to move like this. But it didn’t keep him from trying.  
He gathered all his strength and attempted to sit up again, but a loud clattering of chains against the stone surface kept him down. He could barely lift his shoulders an inch. He couldn’t hold himself up for long before he fell back onto the surface with a thud. A gasp tore from his throat when he heard noise from the other end of the room. A loud click, like a rusty lock turning with use of great force.  
Yi En realized a main part at the end of the room was a large, heavy, wooden door. It swung open with much resistance from the hinges. The sound of people singing, men singing, reached him from behind the door and his eyes widened in fear. Through the doorway came a group of men, walking in two rows with one Yi En assumed to be the leader in front. All of the men were naked and completely stripped of hair. The men looked creepily pale under the green light and long shadows surrounded them as they came closer. Yi En noticed unevenness in their skin. Marks that could be suspected to be caused by whip-lashes. The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine and nervous sweat forming on his forehead.  
The man he thought was the leader stopped in the middle of the hallway along the circumference of the platform on where he was placed. The remaining men parted on either side of the supposed leader. Yi En took the time to count the group and made a headcount of 13 men. Thirteen naked men. They didn’t stop singing until the last two men had gotten in place in the very ends of the semicircle.  
The leader took a step onto the platform and started speaking. It wasn’t a language he could understand. It was most likely English since he was on a holiday in Los Angeles with his parents. It wasn’t Taiwanese for sure. It didn’t sound Asian in any way either. He talked for a long time and Yi En only understood a word here and there. But not enough to grasp the whole meaning. The man stepped closer to him and Yi En attempted to scurry back, but the chains held him down successfully. He was trapped. The leader smiled at him. It was sickeningly sweet. The man’s cupped his cheek with his warm palm, a feeling that would usually have a calming effect on people, but not this time. Yi En tried to jerk his head away from the touch without success. The man leaned closer to him and Yi En closed his eyes in fear of what was to come. A shriek left his lips when he felt something against his lips accompanied by breath fanning over his face. He turned his head away from the man and broke the one-sided kiss. Bile rose in his throat again as the man forced him into a kiss again and a hint of evil in Yi En wanted to throw up into the man’s mouth. But the man pulled back before he could and he swallowed a few times to keep it down. The man stood hovering above him and spoke in the strange language for while. It sounded like he was reciting something, something akin to a prayer. The two men then standing in the middle walked up next to the leader. One of them handed him a knife and Yi En’s pupils dilated with fear when he saw the curved and jagged blade and its jade handle. The leader leaned over him again and reached between his legs. Yi En let out a painful scream when the skin of his groin was penetrated and the blade dragged through his skin, slicing him open down to his knee. He felt the blood bubble from the wound and run down his thigh and onto the surface on where he was laying. His eyes welled with tears and adrenaline pumped in his veins, quickly numbing the pain to be bearable for the boy. An identical cut was sliced in his other thigh as well and Yi En screamed once again. The wounds were throbbing as blood kept gushing through them and onto the table on where he was laying, another verse was recited by the men surrounding him.  
“Stop! Stop please!” Yi En begged the men already knowing it was in vain. But he was desperate and was willing to give everything a shot to be released.  
For a moment everything in the room turned black just as the men stopped speaking, it lasted for a mere second and Yi En couldn’t determine if he was relieved or scared further by that.  
“Death by the hands of the Suuri Joukko, we sacrifice a gifted virgin for our women to bring birth to many new.” Yi En panicked when he heard what they were saying. He understood it clearly this time, something he had taken comfort in before. He hadn’t known what was going on so he couldn’t be scared of what was waiting for him. But now they spoke a language he understood, yet he didn’t recognize it still. It still wasn’t Taiwanese.  
Before Yi En could dwell with the thought for long a liquid was poured onto his legs. He couldn’t see if the liquid was green or clear, not that he cared. He was too busy screaming his lungs out from the burning and corrosive feeling the liquid brought to his cuts. It was burning and a sizzling sound filled the room along with his painful screams. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he trashed desperately to get rid of the pain. The liquid was burning deep into his wounds and etched his insides away all the way to his bones.  
Yi En felt his body convulse again. This time he was unable to stop his body from reacting and he threw up next to the surface. None of the men made a single move to move away. They just accepted what his stomach had to offer for their feet. A foul stench reached him and made his stomach contract once again. It stunk of burnt flesh and a sweet acid along with blood.  
When Yi En stopped convulsing and he couldn’t throw up anymore, the leader pressed the dagger to his throat on his adam’s apple. A single quick cut sliced through the skin and deep into his throat. The painful scream was replaced by a rough rasp as he had his vocal cords cut in the process and blood ran down his neck. Another reciting followed the cut.  
“We, the Suuri Joukko, sacrifice this virgin to our master, the unknown ruler of the world in the name of purity, virginity, innocence and fertility. No woman shall be left unable to give birth to healthy children anymore. For that we sacrifice this innocence, who’s knowledge has been tainted with our language. Once dead, the body will undergo rituals to share our abilities with the children to come.” Each of the men held the heels of their palms together and connected their pinky to pinky and thumb to thumb as the leader cut a symbol in his chest above his heart. Unable to scream anymore he could only rasp out his pain as long cuts were made from his sternum and out. Each cut was deep between his ribs and a cut was made between all ribs on his body. Yi En turned dizzy and the room started spinning before everything went black.

Yi En was floating. Where he was he didn’t recall. He couldn’t see it either. Everything around him was misty, foggy and cloudy. He had no idea which was up or down either. He had no sense of direction whatsoever, something he was usually good at. The place he was was neither too light or too dark. He was floating around in what was seemingly nothingness. He didn’t even feel like he was something himself anymore. He was just an unsolid mass in the air. He imagined himself blending into the misty surroundings completely. He didn’t know for how long he was hanging in the misty place before the mist slowly evaporated around him. Slowly a green light cut through the fog, something that seemed vaguely familiar. He looked at himself and clarified he was basically invisible. He was was a wavey see clear figure floating mid air. No one would notice him unless they knew what they were looking for.  
Yi En took a closer look around the place he had appeared. A very unmanly sound escaped him when he remembered what had happened to him in the green-lit underground church. The men were still standing around the platform where he had been placed on what he now saw as a solid block of green marble. The place he had been tied to would be comparable to an altar in a church but he knew they weren’t christian. It must be some other to him unknown religion or sect. The men knelt down around the pedestal or altar and revealed his body still there. His thighs were basically black with burnt flesh and stained red with blood. His waist was left untouched but his chest was covered in several cuts and a symbol on his chest. Through the center and right into his heart stood the dagger. The leader stood up from his kneeling position and pulled some ropes next to the pedestal that raised his body by the legs. Surprisingly his body remained stiff despite the uneven pull. His waist didn’t bend an angle at all and he laid like he was placed on a board, except he wasn’t. The last blood remaining in his body dripped from the cuts and throat and onto the pedestal. What he thought was random scratches in the surface of it before, he now saw was overflows for the blood to float in until they reached drains the lead into the block of marble. When his body was drained completely for blood and the surface had been wiped for the last blood, it was being laid back down onto the surface again. The sang a song about praising their ruler and thanking him for letting them live such perfect lives. When the song finished the leader opened drawers from the block Yi En had previously thought was solid. He stepped closer to see what was going on and he saw the drawer was piece of marble with a bowl cut into it, the bowl was filled with his blood and an instrument that could only be compared to a meat baster. The leader dipped the tip into the blood and compressed the balloon at the end of the baster. He was watching how the air bubbles erupted through the thick substance of his blood before he released the balloon and sucked up what it could contain. When the baster was filled with his blood, the leader placed himself at the end of the marble block so he was looking up the body’s legs.   
********* ((This is where you skip if you are very sensitive.))  
With seemingly gentle and careful movements he spread the buttocks on the remains and pushed the baster inside it. Yi En felt his massless form convulse in disgust but he couldn’t turn away from the view. It was like some unknown force forced him to watch. The leader emptied the baster inside him and filled him back up with his own blood. He refilled the baster only to fill him up with all of his blood down to the last drop he could a hold of. The filling was done in absolute silence and the twelve other men didn’t even look at it happen. Yi En could see how his body started bulging out with the blood and he could only compare himself to a pregnant boy. Pregnant with his own blood.  
Just as he thought the view couldn’t get any worse the leader crawled onto the table and settled between his legs. Yi En looked away from the scene but the slippery sound and pleasured moan coming from the leader confirmed his suspicion. The leader was having sex with his body, literally fertilizing his blood. He closed his eyes and covered his ears to keep out as many sounds as he possibly could but just as he thought it was over, the next member of Suuri Joukko stood up and repeated the leader’s actions.  
*********  
When all thirteen members had fertilized the body the body was released and lifted from the table. Yi En couldn’t make himself follow the men and his body. They left the room through the heavy creaking door they had entered from. The second the door clicked shut, everything turned black again.


	2. C h a p t e r o n e

Mark jerked awake with a start, sweat trickling down his forehead and his t-shirt was soaking. His eyes were wide and he looked around on high alert. There was no sign of green light or naked men. He dragged his hands over his stomach and sighed in relief. He wasn’t bloated with blood and semen either. He breathed out a sigh of relief and sat up. His cover had been kicked to the floor and the sheet was wrinkled and half way off to one side. If he didn't know better, he would have said he had sex the evening before. He reached next to his pillow and picked up his phone. With movements that were all too familiar he turned on the flashlight on his phone and looked around his room. He just had to make sure. Sure of what he didn't know; he just had to be sure. He had had the dream several times before. It kept repeating. He checked the date on his phone. Exactly like he thought. It was the night between September 10th and 11th. Just like every year he dreamt this dream. He groaned and swung his feet onto the cold floor and rubbed the tired tears out of his eyes.  
The dream confused him. He has it every year, only once a year, but always on the same date. He padded to the bathroom to take a shower and flicked on the light. He couldn’t sleep soaked in sweat. He would have to sleep on the couch the rest of the night as well. He refused to sleep in his bed when he could literally wring the sweat out of his mattress. He took his towel from the hook next to the sink, hung it over the shower wall and stripped of to his birthday suit. He glanced at himself in the mirror and ran his hand down his chest. That damned mark again. It looked like three leaves with a C underneath. All of it made with one cut. He had always had that mark. According to the dream that was how he got it, but he would have known if that had happened, wouldn’t he? Ruffling his damp hair he turned the shower on and stepped inside. He gasped as he welcomed the thrill of cold water before the warm water made its way through the pipes. He cleaned himself quickly and turned off the water. He pulled the towel off the shower wall and dried himself. He hung it up on its hook again and left the bathroom. He didn’t mind being naked in the apartment; he lived alone after all. He went back to his room, wore a pair of boxers and a clean t-shirt and went to the living room not bothering fixing his bed. He covered his body with the blanket and placed his head on the armrest before closing his eyes. Before soon he was fast asleep again.  
Mark groaned loudly when his phone went off into his ear. Snatching his eyes open again he searched for the device. He killed the sound of the alarm and sat up to stretch. He was far from rested enough despite he had gone to bed early. The dream would always drain him for energy. He stood up and padded his way to the bathroom and took his towel from the hook. He stopped and felt the towel and silently wondered why it was wet. He remembered he had showered before going back to sleep.  
“Fuck. I could have slept 15 more minutes,” Mark cursed himself and ran his fingers through his hair. Splashing some cold water in his face Mark made an attempt to wake up a bit more anyways. He styled his hair with help of his fingers. Ruffling a bit there and tugging a bit here. He decided to go natural for the day. Mark really didn’t have energy to do anything about his appearance. Not even a hairbrush did he manage to use.  
Twenty minutes later the redhead was closing the door behind him and the lock clicked shut automatically. He hadn’t gotten breakfast or anything. He had just stuffed his books into his bag and stared at the front door from his couch until it was time to go. Walking down the pathway to the road he was met with the sight of his slightly younger friend talking to an elderly woman. His friend was gossiping like usual. He looked up and made eye contact with Mark and waved at him. Mark gave him a tired and strained nod in return and his friend raised his bushy brows at him questioningly. Mark stopped walking to admire the way the morning sun was playing in his friend’s amber hair that was perfectly styled in a tousled and a wind-blown way. Mark was jealous of how his friend’s eyes crinkled and turned into thin slits whenever he smiled. The dimples on his cheeks and his teeth, so perfectly placed in his gums without being fake to look at. His friend tilted his head and looked at him worriedly. Mark shook his head and walked up to them and bowed to the ahjumma.  
“Morning Mark,” he was greeted and he offered him a smile.  
“G’morning Jaebum,” he greeted back and offered a tug in the corners of his lips instead of a smile.  
“I’m sorry BuIn, but we have to get to class. Thank you for telling me about Wang Jackson,” Jaebum said and bowed to the ahjumma, Mark did the same. They walked down the street in silence until they both broke the silence simultaneously.  
“Wang Jackson?”  
“You look like shit. And that’s a compliment,” they looked at each other and Mark nodded slowly.  
“Thank you? It wasn’t exactly a good night,” he replied to his best friend and kicked a pebble on the ground. “Wang Jackson? Who is he?” He questioned and Jaebum took a deep breath. Mark internally groaned. When Jaebum did that, he knew he wouldn’t have a chance to say as much as a word until they reached school or he forced him to shut up.  
“Listen up, I’m only saying this once,” Jaebum said and Mark mentally thanked the gods for that.

“Wang Jackson,” Jaebum started dramatically. He could be quite a storyteller and freelance gossiper. “He was basically your neighbor. He was known all around the world for his amazing skills and personality. He was around our age and pretty awesome with a saber blade. He was like a god in a fencing arena. He was flying and quicker than all his opponents. He was the one. No one could beat him when he had a blade in his hand. He had a flaming charisma and a smirk that could make the entire world swoon. The earth itself would swoon whenever he smirked. He wasn’t tall, but he was quick as lightning and loud as thunder. He was The Wang Jackson. Besides his amazing skills in fencing he was the kinga at his university. He went to the only university in Korea who could offer him those subjects. He was apparently so smart the university created an education only for him. Just to make sure they got his famous ass to their classrooms. Nothing and no one could compare to The Wang Jackson in anything. He was walking perfection.” Jaebum told and used large movements with his arms to explain the story perfectly in case Mark shouldn’t understand a word Korean. People they met on the street were looking weirdly and Mark looked down at the ground whenever they would stare a little too long at his best friend. Second hand embarrassment at its best. “But that’s not all. He was also known to be the leader of Korea’s most dangerous gang with very close connections to the Mafia. He was told to have fought fifteen members of a rivaling gang singlehanded and without any weapons. He was like…Asia’s Jackie Chan.”  
“Jackie Chan is Chinese.”  
“Yeah, yeah whatever. He was Asia’s Jackie Chan.”  
“So you’re saying he is fencing and studying something only a few people can? Besides that he is an asshole who makes trouble in the neighborhood?” Mark clarified.  
“No you miss the point. He was. He died yesterday. He was attacked from behind by a gang. Once again he fought them off alone without weapons and managed to run away. But they had made sure to better be safe than sorry, so they had one on a rooftop with a gun who shot him.” Jaebum explained and Mark stopped in his tracks.  
“Someone died here yesterday?” He asked and looked at Jaebum worriedly.  
“Yes, now hurry up. We’ll be late for school.” Jaebum said and grabbed Mark’s hand and pulled him along.  
“Idiot. If you didn’t notice, we are already in school.” Mark said and rolled his eyes. “Actually this is the auditorium I’m going to be in,” he said and pointed over his shoulder.  
“But you haven’t heard it all yet.” Jaebum said and Mark sighed.  
“Alright, tell me.”  
“He had a mark like the one you have on your chest. His was on his upper arm though and not from a cut. It was bite marks.” He said and Mark swallowed thickly. It was too close to be a coincidence.

Mark sat down in a chair and looked around him. He pulled the foldable table out of the armrest and took out his book. Magic, ghosts, and other folklores read the title. He opened to the chapter he had studied for the day’s lecture. They were to study potions. They had just covered religions earlier that school year. He was most interested in religions. His reoccurring dream had spiked that interest. If he could figure out what he was dreaming about he would be thrilled and a stone would lift from his chest. And maybe clear out all his confusion about it. It wasn’t anything like something he had read about before in any way. It was entirely different. He didn’t even know if it was a religion or some other cult. He shook his head free of thoughts of his dream. He was about to listen to the lecture. Maybe he learned something new. Something he couldn't afford to miss.  
It was his only lecture that day and he could go to the library afterwards. He could check out for any new arrivals of occult books. He wanted to know everything. After that the readhead could start working at his part time job. His job was to help putting books in place and cleaning. He should print out callbacks of books and receive the payments the students would pay for handing their books in too late.  
When the lecture was over Mark packed his book and notebook into his bag and headed towards the cafeteria. It was time for breakfast and Jaebum would meet him there as well. Maybe he had gathered some more information about this Jackson person. He couldn’t deny he was curious about him. If they had the same mark, maybe he was next to die? Or maybe they had some other connection? Maybe Jackson had the same dream? Who knew? No one would by now if they didn’t before for sure. The kid was dead.  
He walked up to his usual table where Jaebum was already sitting with two trays of food.  
“I love you,” Mark said and sat down after placing his bag in a spare seat. He pulled a tray over and pulled the foil off his yoghurt and fruit. Picking up his spoon he started eating eagerly. If people didn’t know how Mark’s stomach worked, they would think he hadn’t eaten for days - maybe even for a week. He couldn’t eat when he just woke up. It would usually take his stomach two or three hours to wake up. When it did it was a hungry beast that could eat anything and everything. Jaebum also knew Mark was like a grumpy bear whenever he was hungry and therefor always had breakfast ready for him by the time they met after the first lecture.  
“I know, now eat before half the student body gets headless,” Jaebum joked. Mark didn’t reply thought. He was already stuffing his mouth with food. They didn’t talk much while they ate because Mark was too focused on his food, and Mark, he was a real man. He couldn’t multitask for his life especially not when food was one of the tasks.  
“So, I talked to people around school during your lecture. Not many knows who he is, but they heard about him in the news this morning. He was killed between 4 and 4.30 am this morning. He was killed outside the store on the corner, you know the one with the weird flowers in the window? Yeah, there. He was killed right outside there.” Jaebum explained and somewhere during his explanation Mark had stopped eating. “Dude, normally I tell people to close their mouths, but dude, you aren’t eating.” Jaebum noted and raised a brow at the older.  
“Stop ‘dude’ing me. I’m your hyung. And when did you say he was killed?” Mark asked his friend.  
“Between 4 and 4.30,” Jaebum answered and tilted his head. Mark knew his friend was studying him for some sign. Mark hadn’t told him about his dream. He would think he was crazy. He wanted to keep it for himself and unravel the secret bit by bit by himself.  
“Oh, okay,” Mark shrugged and tried to act casual about it. “I wasn’t sure I heard it correctly,” the oldest said and continued eating like nothing happened. Jaebum didn’t buy it though. Mark didn’t just stop eating because he had misheard something. It was more than that.  
“I need to go to the library. My shift is starting in five minutes,” Mark said and cleaned up on his tray. Jaebum nodded and stacked his own stuff on Mark’s tray as well. Mark stood up and handed Jaebum some money for breakfast before he stood up and left with the tray, throwing it out on the way. His mind was filled with thoughts about this Jackson guy. He couldn’t get him out of his head, and it wasn’t because he was Asia’s Jackie Chan or anything of the sorts. It was all because of that mark on his arm.

His shift had started two hours ago and Mark had finished putting returned books back in place on the shelves. Next he had to vacuum the entire floor, and needless to tell, on the biggest university in Seoul the library was ginormous. He went to the janitor’s closet in the hallway and pulled out the old vacuum cleaner and checked the dust bag before he pulled it out of the closet. He knew the janitors didn’t empty it, and more often than not the vacuum cleaner couldn’t vacuum at all because the bag was too full. This time around it hadn’t been used since his last shift and he mentally cheered that he didn’t have to do extra work. He started vacuuming and hummed to himself as he cleaned the floor. He avoided the areas where students were sitting and studying though they were nice to move to one of the sections he had cleaned when they saw he moved along so he could clean it all. It was like an unwritten agreement. A loud clattering sound sounded through the pipe of the vacuum cleaner and Mark wondered what he had sucked up. He didn’t ponder on it for long. It was probably just a pebble or something. He continued cleaning the floor when the floorboard lifted with the suction. Mark looked around worriedly and checked if anyone had seen him destroying school’s property. He knelt down to fix the floorboard when he saw an old perfume flask in dark green with gold decorations. It was in the shape of a heart with a gold neck and green glass ball on the top. It was truly beautiful. He picked it up and noticed the black old book underneath. He picked that one up too and studied the items carefully. He needed to look at these things. He would make them his study. He had to find out what they were. He just had to.


	3. C h a p t e r t w o

The printer made a loud noise that definitely didn’t sound like it should. It followed up with an obnoxious beeping. Mark jumped in his chair and turned his head from the screen he was looking at.  
“Fuck not again! Stupid cheap shit!” He cursed and hit the desk next to the keyboard with his fist in dismay. The redhead stood up and looked at the printer’s screen for an indication of where the problem was. He opened the front cover of he printer and saw – just like he had expected – a paper curled up in the machinery. It was all crumbled and unable to read. He heaved a loud say and dropped to his knees in front of the affronting machine and worked the paper out of the printer. Mark straightened the paper and had to make sure which student number that had gone wrong. He would need to print it again. His job for the rest of his shift was to print out fines for students who handed in the books too late.  
“Mark! Come out here please.” It was the librarian, better known as his boss that called him. Air gipped in the said boy and the sound made him look at the door that led to the library. Sweat started to form on the young man’s forehead and on his palms. He was silently panicking in his sanctuary of the back room. Had she found the book? Did she see the flask and wanted to fire him for bringing liquids to the library which was obviously against the rules. And Mark knew the rules very well. He had been told to memorize them before he could get hired there in the first place. The assistant pushed himself off the floor and left the printer open to fix afterwards. He walked out to the front desk and scanned the periphery of the library to the shelf where he had hidden his biggest treasure.  
“Over here,” the librarian waved at him from a shelf a few rows down from his secret stash. He breathed a sigh of relief and plastered a smile on his face. Rule number two: Always appear happy and smiley in front of people coming to the library.  
“Can you help this young man find a few books for his project? It’s about religious art and I know you’re into the whole religion thing,” she said and Mark just nodded slowly in response. What the hell were they doing by the section on religion? Anyone could tell they should be looking in the art section for books on art.  
“Of course,” he replied when he realized a nod wouldn’t suffice for the librarian. She dipped her head and turned to take her leave. Mark bowed to the follow student and offered him the plastered and practiced smile.  
“This way. The section for art is two rows down on our right.” He explained and showed the other to the shelf he talked about. The boy followed and the redhead stopped in front of the shelf. He quickly located the relevant books for the project.  
“Do you have any titles or do you just want books on the subject in general?” Mark asked as he ran his fingers over the spine of the all too well known books.  
“No I am still thinking about which specific problem I want to address, so for now I just want to see what the books can offer a little help with,” the student replied meekly. Mark crouched down and pulled book after book off the shelves and stacked them next to him. The other student was merely looking at him as he worked and looked at the titles of each book. The assistant knew what he was doing. He had read all the books on religious art already. He knew what each book had to offer and he couldn’t help but make a face when he noticed the best book was gone from the shelf.  
“Do you have any idea which direction the investigation will lead you?” Mark asked the boy who pursed his lips slightly in thought.  
“No, not really. If you have any ideas I am open. I just know I don’t want to work with the main religions. Art in Christianity, Islam and Buddhism are quite investigated already. I want something smaller and more unique,” the boy explained and Mark couldn’t help but smile at the obvious passion the boy had in his voice.  
“Alright. I will make sure to contact you if I come up with something. Also, I will keep my eyes out for the best book. It’s currently out of the house.” He said and picked up the stack of books he had found for the boy walking towards the front disk where he could check out the younger student. The dark-haired boy followed him and roamed his pockets for what Mark suspected was his student identity card. The plastic card was placed on the disk and Mark picked it up. He let his eyes roam over the name on the card. Youngjae. He didn’t look like a Youngjae. At least that wasn’t what he had imagined a Youngjae to look like. He shook his head at his own thoughts and entered the student identity number to the computer. He scanned the barcode on the back of each book and packed them into plastic bags for the student to take afterwards.  
“This should be it. Have fun reading. Art and religion are two very interesting subjects.” He smiled and handed him the bag. “If you need anything don’t hesitate to come to me. I have read all the books myself and I’m currently studying occult wonders along with magic.” He explained and Youngjae nodded with a friendly smile.  
“Thank you…uhm…I never got your name.” Youngjae said and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.  
“Mark. Sorry. My name is Mark. I’m in third year studying paranormal phenomena.” Mark smiled at the younger boy. Youngjae lit up and bowed thankfully before he left the library with his books.  
The assistant watched the younger leave the room before he returned to the office again. He had to finish the paperwork before his shift was over. Dropping to his knees again, he untangled the paper and checked the student number. It was awfully similar to Youngjae’s. But then again, all student numbers seemed alike so he could be confusing them. Deep in thought he closed the front of the printer and stood up. The redhead noticed the printer come back to life with an annoying buzzing behind him as he opened the computer again. Curiosity was getting the best of him and his fingers danced over the numbers on the keyboard as he entered the student ID. The page loaded and a list of books appeared on the screen, one title in red. It was Youngjae. All the titles in black were the ones he had leant just a few minutes prior and the red was the title he had been wanting the other read. Mark saw the boy was in same year as him. He furrowed his brows slightly. The boy was definitely younger than him. Much younger than him. Mark put his fine to print again and started to fold the ones that were already printed and put them into envelopes.

 

When his shift ended, Mark picked up his bag from the floor in the office and swung it over his shoulder. He bowed to the librarian and thanked her politely for the day before he searched his way through the library for his book again. Mark went to shelf where he had hid it and crouched down so his vision was on level. The young man pushed aside a few books and took out the flask and book he was searching for. Unzipping his bag he placed the items inside carefully and left the library after bowing one last time to the boss.  
“Finally you’re off. I thought they had kidnapped you and tied you to a chair in the back or something,” Jaebum joked when Mark walked through the doors out of the library. Mark rolled his eyes in reply.  
“You worry too much. That only happens in action movies. Or for the very unlucky people it may happen to their neighbor.” Mark laughed and stepped up to his best friend. “Let’s go now before they kidnap you instead.” The oldest said and rolled his eyes at his younger best friend’s antics.  
“So, coffee time?” Jaebum asked and Mark agreed with a long pleased groan and erratic nodding.  
“Yes please,”  
“So, how was work?” The youngest asked.  
“Like every other day at work.” The older replied with a shrug. The older didn’t intend on telling his younger friend about his discovery. Joking and making fun of one another, the two walked together to the café just across from campus. The youngest went in first and waved at the barista probably a little too excitedly. Mark nudged his side and gave him a knowing look and waved too. He earned himself a glare in return from Jaebum.  
“I see your lover boy is here today,” Mark teased the other with a mischievous glint in his eyes and Jaebum rolled his eyes at him. Together they walked over to the usual table where they sat every afternoon. And just like any other day, Jinyoung would be at work. The oldest looked up at the barista who was looking at them questioningly. Mark smiled and nodded which earned him an ‘ok’ sign from the young barista. Before he turned back around, Jinyoung was already busy making ‘the usual’. He made the usual drinks and cut a piece of cake for Jaebum. Mark could have sworn the cake grew in size every day and the coffee art on his café latte became more and more complex too.  
Jaebum was sitting silently in his chair opposite Mark and was unusually silent. It wasn’t until the barista sat down by their table with his own coffee the younger seemed to relax. The barista though had the opposite effect. He tensed up and fiddled with the hem of his apron or the edge of the cup. His leg seemed unable to stop jitter under the table and Mark smiled at them knowingly. It was so incredibly obvious the two had the hots for each other, but they were equally oblivious to the fact. Mark could only find the situation beyond hilarious. Mark lifted his hand from the table and showed five fingers to himself. He curled one down every second like he was counting down to something. Three, two, one, aaand…  
“Break?” Jaebum asked and Mark mentally celebrated. They were too predictable and Mark found it funny. Jinyoung nodded slowly in reply; indeed he was on break. Mark held back an amused snort. Jinyoung was always on break whenever they arrived. No matter if it was by this time or several hours later. Mark had figured he saved his break for the precious boy toy Mark called his best friend. Cue new awkward silence. The oldest took it upon himself to break the silence so the two lovebirds wouldn’t do something weird to fill out the silence.  
“So tell me, what did you find out while I was at work?” Mark asked knowing fully well that Jaebum couldn’t stop himself from gossiping. Best way to prevent awkward silences. Mark was convinced that during the few hours he had been at work the professional freelance gossiper had figured out Jackson’s entire life story; including which hotel room he had been conceived in too.  
“You’ve heard about Wang Jackson right?” Jaebum asked the barista who nodded eagerly as he sipped on his iced something-something that smelled way too sweet. “Alright, then listen up kids…” Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes. He was the oldest after all. “…Wang Jackson. It has been announced his family is having a public memorial for their son so the public can grieve with them. Some say it is a media stunt; others are amazed by the family’s strength to face the public in a time like this. Not many are planning on coming though but they plan on placing a flower and light a candle where he was killed. About Jackson himself, he was fencing, like I told you earlier.” Jaebum pointed to Mark. “He was fencing for the Olympic team in Hong Kong. And best of it all, he was friends with a Youngjae who goes to this school.” He said and nodded excitedly. Mark rolled his eyes at his best friend. Youngjae? That was the kid’s name from the library. Could it be?  
“Good snooping. Was that all?” Mark asked. The expression on Jaebum’s face was worth it all. He loved to tease Jaebum when it came to gossiping. The younger took pride in his skills. It wasn’t like he was bad at it. He was better than most if Mark had to be completely honest with himself. Maybe he should suggest Jaebum to become a journalist? Nah. Better not. No one would get any peace then. He would be snooping around everywhere.  
“Of course not. I’m only warming up,” Jaebum said proudly and Jinyoung let out a very unmanly chuckle. It was bordering to a giggle. The sound alone made Mark cringe. “The mark on his arm was supposedly from a fencing tournament where his opponent bit him in an attempt of distracting him. It left him unable to fight for months. It’s said that his parents died in a car crash around the same time as he got the cut, which only added to the time he took in recovering. Now for what is really interesting,” Jaebum said. The grin on his lips made it obvious they were going to hear something amazing. “He had a girlfriend. An idol. Supposedly American. Tall and blonde; a goddess. He was rich. The richest man younger than 25 in Korea. He was told to star in a Chinese movie alongside Jackie Chan and what’s his face? I can’t remember his name.” Jaebum told what he knew about the dead boy. “Though something is really interesting about this Jackson boy. No one knows anything about his childhood. Other than he is from Hong Kong no one knows anything. He is like a ghost that popped up out of nowhere. Do you believe in ghosts.” Mark raised a brow at his friend silently judging him. “That’s a stupid question. Just forget I asked. Of course you do.” He mumbled and Jinyoung almost-giggled again.

 

After parting with his friend and the latter’s crush Mark went home. He was dying with curiosity about the book he had found. It wasn’t a normal book for sure; and the small bottle of liquid too. He knew they belonged together and was connected but he didn’t know what for. The student locked himself into his apartment and kicked off his shoes by the door. He bent down and made sure his shoes were standing on line so no one would stumble and break a leg over it. In the process the careful student put down his bag softly so the flask didn’t break. He couldn’t risk breaking the fragile piece of glass, nor could he risk ruining the book before he had a chance to read it. Leaving the bag in the hallway Mark went to the kitchen and pressed the button on his kettle. He wanted some coffee for his examination of the book. While the water boiled, Mark went to the hallway to get the book and flask from his bag. The redhead picked up the bag and brought it with him to the living room where he opened it and took out the two objects. He cleared the table for any remaining schoolwork and headed to the kitchen where he made himself a cup of coffee on instant beans. It wasn’t exactly delicious, but it would have to do in lack of better quality. He ran his fingers over the rough and old leather binding on the front of the book and noticed that despite the obvious age, it wasn’t in a bad condition. Mark turned the book in his hands in search of any indication of what the book was about but he was left clueless. It was just a black leather bound book.  
In the midst of examining the book, Mark forgot everything about dinner and homework. The book was way more interesting than anything school could offer after all. And Mark had this feeling this book was important to him. Like it could give him some sort of answers to all his questions. The redhead finally gave in to his curiosity and opened the front page carefully. The small sounds of paper ripping filled the room and Mark froze. He listened carefully as he opened the book a little wider. The sound returned but this time Mark realized they weren’t ripping; they were merely the pages that were sticking together from being compressed for so long.  
The red-haired boy carefully placed the front of the book down on the table and took in the first page of the book. It was written in a font that could be dated back at least a dozen decades back. Each letter was perfectly formed in ink and had no trace of mistake or attempt of correcting. He didn’t notice when he had stopped breathing, nor did he notice when he let his fingertips move over the rough surface of the paper to trace the form of each delicate letter. The pages had a distinct color to them; a color that would only appear when the book had been for a long long time. The pages were slightly crumbled like the book had been somewhere very humid – like a basement. Mark concluded it had probably been under the floorboard in the library for most of his life and stopped thinking of the mysteries of its origin. He wanted to know more about the content. He turned to the middle of the book and saw illustrations of setups. The text accompanying the illustrations appeared to be a step-by-step guide of some sorts. He turned to the first page and looked over it. It was a long list. A long list of names. There seemingly wasn’t any definite order to the names. Mark did though notice the names all had an Asian origin to them. He read through every single one of the names of the list. He needed to see if he could recognize any of the names. He was determined to find a clue to his life’s mystery in this list. Mark turned a page and he could feel hope literally escape his body bit by bit.  
When Mark reached the fourth page with names he was resting his chin his palm and his mind has already shut down somewhat. It was just name after name of people he had no clue about. His coffee stood on the table next to him long forgotten and cold. He raised the cup now that he had noticed it again and took a sip. He almost spat out the cold liquid when he read the next names over the edge of the cup. He even had to do a double take. Yi En was on the list; the name from his dream. A very cold and uncomfortable feeling enveloped the boy. His eyes darted around the room for any sign of movement. If he had to be completely honest, he was scared. Nothing natural could have that effect on his body. Seeing nothing in the room Mark took another sip of the coffee and the same feeling hit him. He placed the cup down and shivered almost violently. Then it hit him. The bad feeling was from cold coffee. He hated cold coffee. Chuckling at himself and his slightly paranoid tendencies he looked at the list of names again. Ka Yee.  
Mark turned to the next page in the book and scanned the content for a second. He instantly slammed the book shut. His heart was hammering away in his chest and he could feel sweat forming on his forehead and in his palms. Only a very small part of him was able to convince himself to only push it a little away and not throw it across the room in disgust. This was definitely not a normal book.  
Mark tapped his fingers against the table as he glanced at the book repeatedly. It was disturbing. It was disturbing yet so intriguing he couldn’t keep his hands off of it. He leaned over the surface and pulled the book close again. He cursed his curiosity to hell and back as he started to read.


	4. C h a p t e r t h r e e

A comb went through his hair as he let his eyes scan his appearance. He was wearing all black. Even his red hair seemed darker than usual.  
He opened the jacket and let his eyes wander over his dark grey dress shirt for any imperfections, folds or signs of dust. He dusted off a stray strand of hair before he straightened his already straight, black tie and closed the jacket.  
He looked over his shoulder to see the time on the wall-clock, and to check that he had remembered buying the flowers and written a card to the poor people’s loss.  
Mark placed his phone in his pant pocket, checked his appearance one last time before leaving the apartment with the flowers and card in tow.  
The redhead walked the few streets' distance to the church and slowly moved up the small pathway to the white building. He bowed politely to the other guests and offered the most moved ones his condolence. By the entrance to the church the redhead saw two people he assumed to be Jackson’s foster parents. He bowed ninety degrees to the couple and handed the flowers to the fragile looking woman.  
She was shaking like a leaf and her face was sunken. Her eyes looked dark and hollow; not to mention red and swollen. The male didn’t look much better, if any at all.  
The atmosphere by the church was strangling and Mark found it hard to breathe. The sorrow and sadness were almost too hard to bear. Mark had never been one to deal with emotions well, and the sorrow was too palpable. He had no idea how to deal with it. He sucked on his teeth harshly to prevent himself from shedding tears.

“Excuse me young man,” the male spoke up. Mark had turned away from the couple to breathe but was stopped by a careful and strong hand on his shoulder. “Did you by any chance know our Jackson personally?” He asked. Mark blinked a couple of times slightly baffled by the sudden question.  
“No sir, I never met him. I knew who he was though. My friend went to the same class as him.” Mark explained with a half lie.  
“Oh, I’m sorry then. You just look like how he explained this Yi En to be,” the woman explained. If she looked fragile her voice was an even worse case. It was barely above a whisper and her voice was rusty. Mark concluded it was from all the crying she must have been doing.  
Yi En? That name again. It was literally everywhere he was looking lately. Even when he wasn’t listening it would be spoken around him. Mark felt haunted by a name.  
“I’m sorry miss. I don’t know this Yi En.” He said and bowed politely to the mourning couple before turning away from them. He stood silently among the crowd and watched the guests mingle and greet each other. He bowed politely to everyone that came around to greet him as well while he waited for the ceremony to begin.  
It didn't take many minutes before the crowd started to move towards the graveyard and Mark moved along. He was following the group silently since Jaebum couldn’t come so he felt slightly misplaced in the crowd. He felt even more misplaced because he didn’t know the boy they were all mourning over. From what Jaebum had told him the day before they were connected in some way. He hadn’t heard of anyone else having a mark like that somewhere on their body. There was something about this Jackson. He just knew it. He didn’t even question why he felt that way. He just did.

The coffin was beautiful. It was white and covered in beautiful flowers. Some guests had brought beautifully arranged bouquets to place around the coffin long with pictures of memories and words of encouragement. Everyone greeted the foster parents of the resting child and offered them their condolence. Instead of taking up more of the space and gaining any unwanted attention Mark sat down in the back. The fact that his foster parents had mistaken him for someone called Yi En made him even more aware of the attention he was getting.  
He glanced around and noticed several pairs of eyes on him. He regretted not bringing Jaebum with him now. He felt like he was under surveillance by the many other guests. He felt like he was the main suspect in a crime, and everything he did would be used against him. He felt at least one pair of eyes on him. He glanced around in an attempt to see who was looking as the last guests settled down in the seats surrounding him.  
The priest stepped forward when everyone had settled down and cleared his throat.  
“We are here today in grief of the loss of our dear friend, son and unique human being. We are gathered in the memory of his person. Jackson was a special boy and young man to all of us. He was smart, full of happiness and brilliant at fencing. He was full of life and smiles, not to mention a bubbling laughter. It’s a huge loss for us to have lost his energy from our world. Jackson was…”

A fog enveloped his body. He didn’t really feel like a body really. He felt like a formless mass with no origin or shape. The mass was floating around in the fog until the dense air rose from its surroundings. Mark looked around. He saw rows and rows of beautiful white crosses. A graveyard. Someone started to speak behind him. The mass turned around and saw a funeral. Not Jackson’s funeral but someone else’s. The guests were somewhat familiar. He knew them but he couldn’t put a relation or name to any of the them. He just knew that he knew them. He studied the people present closely. He saw two people dressed in black hugging. A male and a female. Probably the couple closest to the deceased person. The woman was hiding herself in the male’s body. Her face was buried against his chest and her body shook with violent sobs. The man wiped his cheeks for the endless stream of tears that ran down his cheeks. Mark noticed how he curled his lips around his teeth as he inhaled shakily between the sobs. Somehow it was an action he found familiar.  
The priest was almost through his speech about the deceased person, not that Mark paid attention to what was being said. It wasn’t until he heard the name that had been haunting him lately that he looked up.  
“Yi En was a hardworking boy. He was a happy boy for whom a wonderful holiday in Los Angeles ended up as a nightmare. Both for himself and his family.” He atmosphere around the funeral turned darker and a lot more serious. “He was kidnapped from a beach where he was sleeping peacefully. A group of men came and picked him up. That was the last time anyone saw him or heard from him. The police consider him dead, which is why we are all gathered here to send him on a journey to a better place. Because Yi En’s body hasn’t been found yet, we can’t bury him properly. As an alternative the church has made a life size picture of him. It’s placed in the coffin. It’s now time for you to say your last goodbyes.” The priest said and opened the lid of the coffin. Mark floated over to see this Yi En boy. A gasp tore through the mass. It was a picture of himself. How Mark remembered himself.

Mark jolted awake at Jackson’s funeral. He was laying half across the chair and almost pushed the people next to him off their chairs earning him well-deserved glares. Confused he sat up and rubbed his eyes like it would sort out his thoughts of what he had just seen. The people around him stood up and Mark scrambled to follow. The guests were walking towards the coffin and Mark realized they had reached the point where why were about to pay their last respect and say their final goodbyes. Mark followed them and stood in line. He moved slightly backwards so he was the last person in the line. He wanted the others to say goodbye first since they knew him. It was normal etique of letting them go first. When it came to his turn, Mark closed his eyes before he leaned ever so slightly over the coffin and wished him a wonderful journey to the other side. Once he finished he took a look at the boy and his eyes widened slightly. Even dead and pale he looked painfully handsome. Mark shook his head free of thoughts and moved on. He bowed to the priest for a wonderful job and stood around the hole in which Jackson was to get buried in. He folded his hands in front of his body and watched the whole ceremony pass by while his head was filled with thoughts on his new dream, vision or whatever it was. Was it his own memory? Or was it a weird vision? He had no idea.

‘Yi En’  
Mark entered the name in Google’s search box and hit enter. He walked from the living room to the kitchen where he poured himself a mug with coffee and grabbed an apple. With his refreshments in hand he returned to see the results from the search. His browser window filled with results from an Asian cuisine in New Jersey. He quickly disregarded the idea of adding US to the search words. He took a sip from his coffee as he thought of which words he should use. He put down the mug before he typed in the next word kidnapped. The number of results he got surprised him. The small preview Google offered him all looked promising of finding out about this Yi En guy. Not being able to pick between which headline suited him the most and he just clicked on the first.

Elementary School Student Kidnapped From The Beach  
Eight-year-old Taiwanese Yi En Tuan was kidnapped from the beach. Mr and Mrs Tuan were taking a short dip in the water and left their son sleeping on the beach for only a few minutes. When they looked back on the beach to check that Yi En was alright, they saw a group of men dressed in black robes.  
Mark widened his eyes at this. From a beach and with a group of men. They were dressed in black sure, but it seemed too close to be a coincidence. Too close to his nightmare.  
They were walking past the place where the schoolboy was sleeping but the boy was gone. They don’t know exactly when he disappeared except it was within the timeframe of maximum five minutes they were in the water.  
Mrs Tuan instantly started to search the area and asked everyone for clues for when their son had disappeared. But soon the couple had to accept no one had seen anything suspicious except the group of men they had seen themselves.  
Mark frowned when the article wasn’t longer than that. He went back to the previous page of his Google search. He clicked the next headline and started reading.

Eight-year-old Didn’t Die In Vain  
Eight-year-old Yi En Tuan didn’t die in vain. Yi En was taken from the beach by an invisible sea monster well-known in an Middle-Eastern sub-religion. The sea monster is known to take children from elementary school and drag them into the ocean. The sea monster is picking its victims to prevent catastrophes. This monster took Yi En to the ocean from his sleep on the beach to save as many people as possible in the 9-11 attack. The terrorist attack happened just the day after the un-religious sacrifice of the schoolboy.  
The loss of the horrible terrorist attack made by Al-Qaeda would have ended up much much worst with much greater losses than we suffered.

Mark stared at the article in disbelief. It went on for several more pages but the explanation was simply too ridiculous; mostly because through his years of study of sub-religions he had never come across a religion with this creature. And it didn’t fit with anything he knew or from his nightmare. Nothing at all.  
He took a sip of his coffee and cringed at the cold liquid. Displeased he put the mug down, stuck his tongue out at the taste and decided to settle for the first article to believe. He went back to the search page from Google and clicked on the third headline. It was more or less a re-writing of the first. No extra details. The same went for the following headlines. It wasn’t until page four of Google’s results he saw something new. He quickly read through the article curiosity taking over him.

He sat frozen, unable to move a limb. Nothing. He just stared at the screen. Sentences like “Yi En lost his memory” “Couldn’t recognize his parents” “Learned English over night” “Claimed to have lived in Los Angeles all his life” “Yi En’s name is Mark” and “Moved to Seoul in South Korea to find his real parents” caught his eyes. This article had a picture of the dead child Yi En as well. It was a picture of Mark self, 13 years prior. At his 8thbirthday. On September 4th 2001 - if he had to take the date in the article for anything serious. But Mark didn’t have a memory of then. He didn’t remember anything from before his 9th birthday. He had heard about this 9/11 attack. He had been taught about it in school, but he didn’t remember it happening. And according to his birthday it should be right after his 8th birthday. He didn’t get to know more from his research. It only raised more questions that he needed answered. But one thing he did conclude though. He Mark Tuan, was Yi En Tuan; the kidnapped child from a beach in Los Angeles.


	5. C h a p t e r f o u r

Sitting by his desk dressed in his pajamas Mark was glaring at a book. Not just any book. No  _the_  book. The very book that had made a mess in Jinyoung’s and Jaebum’s relationship. Mark had accepted magic was a dangerous thing to play with.

“It was just because I am inexperienced.” He nodded to himself.

“Magic isn’t that dangerous. It was mistakes.” He nodded once more.

“Magic isn’t even that weird. It’s just an illusion.” Mark smiled.

“Yes. I just have to practice some more.” He reached over the wooden desk and pulled the book towards him. He looked at the front cover and opened it carefully.

“No more making slaves of my will.” He reminded himself when his mind wandered back to his best friend and his crush. He continued turning pages and read the headlines in search of anything interesting to try out. Mark didn’t know what kind of magic the book contained so he had to look closely at each page. Most magic seemed like it was taken right out of a Harry Potter movie.

“Love potion.” He muttered to himself and turned the page to the next magic potion.

“Luck…Liquid luck.” He chuckled as he remembered the potion from Harry Potter.

“Resurrection.” His eyes widened as his fingers trailed over the headline. He doubted he had read it correctly. He reread the headline and leaned back in his seat. He doubted the potion was even real. No one could bring people back from the dead. Or at least that was what he believed. He had through all his studies never heard of anyone bringing people back from the dead. Even more so with it being without complications.

Mark took his phone out of his pocket and opened his conversation with Jaebum.

_To Stupid  
If I could resurrect anyone in the world, who should I choose?_

_From Stupid  
You’re mental. You ask me the weirdest questions at the most random times_

_To Stupid  
I know. That’s why I only ask you._

_From Stupid  
The first name I thought of was Jackson_

_To Stupid  
You love Jackson ;)_

_From Stupid  
Wrong. Only the J. Jr…Jinyoung. He is my Junior. OMG hahaha! Did you see what I did there? I am fucking hilarious!_

_To Stupid  
You’re a facepalm worthy JB. Justin Bieber. Hahaha, I’m funnier. I’ll call you Bieber from now on  <3_

_From Stupid  
DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE MARK!_

_To Stupid  
You love me Bieber  <3 <3 xoxo_

_From Stupid  
Imagine the many fangirls who would kill to get to write that :D_

Mark laughed and placed his phone on the table. He loved the relationship he had with his friend. So Jaebum wanted him to resurrect Jackson? He could do that. If the magic was real at least. He pulled the book closer again and read the list of ingredients. He raised a brow as he saw the content of the supposed potion. He had everything at home. The only thing he was a handful of dirt from the grave where the person had been buried. He read through the steps of making the potion and didn’t know whether he should be smiling or not when he saw the dirt had to be added last and only a minute before the potion should work. His brows shot to the hairline when a small note was written in pencil next to the beautiful font the book had originally been written in.

_Has to be used during full moon._

“When’s the next full moon?” Mark picked up his phone.

“Nothing Google can’t handle.” He muttered and Google’d the calendar of the moon. Mark almost snorted out at the cliché. It was full moon that night, and Mark swore it deserved a scene in a movie or a bestseller book.

 

Changed out of his pajamas Mark was wearing black. Even darker than when he had gone to Jackson’s funeral. He wore a black beanie over his red hair and even black gloves. He looked over his shoulder as he swung the shovel forwards ahead of him like a makeshift cane. On his back he carried a backpack with a bottle with the potion, magic potion book, screwdriver and a water bottle. He knew it would take him at least two hours of concentrated work to dig up Jackson’s remains. Using the flashlight on his phone he searched the headstones for Jackson’s name.

“Ms Kim. Mr Song. Mr and Mrs Jung. Wang. Wang Jackson.” The redhead read the names out loud to himself as he walked past the graves he couldn’t use; the graves that didn’t contain Wang Jackson. He shivered lightly and felt how Goosebumps appeared on his skin. Mark couldn’t keep the thoughts of the endless number of horror movies he had watched that had taken place in graveyards. Mentally he was expecting for a hand to reach out of a grave and drag into the pits of black that made Mother Earth at night. He felt his heartbeat accelerate against his chest and his hands became disgusting and moist in his gloves. Mark would have wiped his palms in his pants but the gloves prevented him from doing so. Mark’s eyes darted around the graveyard as he took another shaky step forward to the headstone with Jackson’s name on it. It fit pretty well with this being Jackson’s grave. There were still some fresh flowers on his grave and the grave was raised above the rest of the ground. It was only waiting for the coffin to burst under the pressure and the dirt would sink into the coffin and even out the surface. But that would have to way a little longer. Mark put down his backpack on the ground next to the grave and took a deep breath. He carefully started to move the flowers out of the way. Once they had carefully been spread over the ground surrounding the grave he started digging.

An hour later Mark leaned against the shovel and sighed. His hand rose to his forehead and wiped the sweat off his brows. He was panting from the exhaustion of digging for an hour. He took out his phone and squinted at the light. 2.34 am. He stepped the shovel further into the ground and left it standing on its own. He turned to his backpack and took out his long needed water bottle. Unscrewing the cap he quickly gulped down half of the content. It wasn’t exactly cold anymore, but it would do. Mark screwed the cap back on and put the bottle back in the bag. He walked back to the grave and stepped down to the level he had reached. He grabbed the shovel tightly and continued his digging.

 

It had been almost three hours, a sore back and blisters on his fingers before the shovel reached the hard surface of the coffin. The impact shook through Mark’s already exhausted arms and made him groan in pain. Mark looked around the hole he had been digging. He took a deep breath before he continued clearing the entire lid of the coffin. When he was done and tossed the shovel out of the grave and onto the ground above him, his arms felt like jelly. He didn’t have the slightest bit of strength left, and he was even surprised he had gotten that far with it. He stood on the lid of the coffin and tiptoed. The boy dressed in black leaned over the edge of the hole and searched for his backpack. He needed his screwdriver to unscrew the lid. He only had the moon’s misty pale light as help to locate the tool. His fingers curled around one of the shoulder straps and he pulled it closer. It took Mark a few minutes of feeling his way through the bag to locate the tool and pull it out. Wiping his forehead with his sleeve he crouched down and started to unscrew the screws in the lid. When the last screw was undone Mark stepped back. Here came the easiest job to do yet it was the part that took the most of Mark to do. He had to open the coffin to reveal Jackson’s dead body. Would he smell? How far would he be in decaying? The questions were many but he would only get an answer by opening the coffin. He moved aside and curled his fingers under the lid and lifted it slightly. He released a shaky breath only to inhale sharply again. He held his breath as he lifted the lid off the coffin and he released the air trapped in his lungs. Safe for the little dirt that drizzled into the coffin when he lifted the lid, Jackson looked like he had done the day he was buried. Mark buried his front teeth in his lower lip and pushed himself onto the edge of the hole he had dug. Reality hit him. He had just dug up a dead body. What he had just done was a crime. It was grave robbery. He broke a nervous cold sweat under his dark clothes and his chest tightened. What if anyone caught him? He would be done as a human. He would be some animal behind bars in prison. His breath caught in his lungs for several seconds before he hyperventilated. Everything was just so wrong. But it was too late to back out now. Of course he could just screw the lid back on and cover him in dirt again, but he had come this far. He couldn’t back out now. And what if the potion worked? Breathing into his sleeve Mark slowly calmed down enough to get on with his plan.

He found the bottle with potion in his bag and climbed into the hole again.

“Here goes nothing.” He muttered to himself and stood with a foot on either side of Jackson’s chest. He crouched down so he was more or less straddling his chest and placed the bottle in the bottom of the coffin. With both hands he carefully pried Jackson’s mouth open. It surprised him exactly how stiff the jaw had become. Didn’t the muscles go slack when people die? Apparently not.

When Jackson’s mouth had opened, Mark stood up and uncapped the bottle. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand he grabbed a handful of the soil from the grave. He put it into the potion and capped it. He shook the bottle a few times and looked at the dead boy beneath him. He reached into his bag on the ground above him and took out the small flask with the magical serum or whatever it was. Mark sprayed some of the magic potion into the potion he had made before and waited for any sign of activity. When no smoke or minor explosion happened he shrugged and crouched down on top of Jackson again. Sitting on his chest he uncapped the bottle and let the potion pour into Jackson’s mouth. Mark was looking at the dead boy beneath him and waited. And he waited a little more. He looked at his phone to check the time and watched minute after minute pass by with no sign of change on Jackson. Mark frowned and found the flashlight on his phone. Leaning forward he carefully pried Jackson’s eyelids apart. There was no sign of life in the dead and glassy pupils. Letting a sigh leave his lips, Mark stood up and pulled himself out of the grave. He placed his behind on the edge of the grave and took out his book. He was wondering what had gone wrong. He turned to the page with the recipe for the potion and read it closely. He had done everything it said and had all acted within all deadlines. The redhead turned to the next page and let his eyes rake down the page. It said nothing about how to make it work. He sighed and placed his phone on the page, with the screen downwards. He leaned back onto the grass with a groan and left the book in his lap.

“So much work, for nothing.” He grumbled. “My arms are dead.” He whined and shook his arms weakly in emphasis, even though he wasn’t talking to anyone. He stayed in his position for a short while before sitting back up. He looked down at the book in his lap and his eyes widened. One page had turned back and was covering his phone. The flashlight was shining up through the thin page and cast a shadow over some words that weren’t visible in pen. He slipped back into the hole and crouched down by his chest again. He took a deep breath and looked at the book again and began to read aloud.

“ _Nouseva kuoleista, vahva ja vilkas, tuntea syke ja avaa silmäsi. Jaan elämäni kanssasi._ ” He leaned down and did as the book told he should do. He leaned over the stronger boy’s body and hovered above him silently. He breathed against the other’s lips before he closed the distance between them.

Jackson’s lips felt hard and cold underneath Mark’s. Mark closed his eyes and tried to keep the fact that he was kissing a dead person at bay. The bile rose in his throat despite his futile attempt and he had to swallow a few times. He inhaled through his nose as he recited the directions in the book. He blew some air into Jackson’s mouth to let the potion travel further into his body. He continued to kiss the boy, his mind not even crossing the fact he was dead again. The lips heated up underneath him, but Mark didn’t notice. He was too engrossed in kissing them to think of it. He let himself drop down on the other’s cold body and cradled his head in his hands. Instructions be damned, this kiss was the best he had ever felt. It was so good it took his breath away. He wanted to pull back from the pleasurable kiss but he was unable to move his lips from Jackson’s. Mark’s lungs emptied, almost collapsed in his chest and the body beneath him expanded. Unable to move or breathe Mark could only kiss Jackson harder, more feverish and more hungrily. A fire spread across his body and he was being kissed back. If he felt good before while kissing the unresponsive lips, he was in paradise when they kissed back. Ignoring everything surrounding him, Mark kept kissing the younger boy until a zap came across his lips. Startled he pulled back and found a pair of confused and glassy eyes looking at him. Silence settled down between them and no one moved. They looked at each other for minutes straight, only blinking occasionally.

“Jackson.” Mark finally spoke and the confusion in the other’s expression only grew more prominent. The older patiently waited for Jackson to react and he waited for a long time.

“W-who are you?” The younger asked and kept staring at Mark.

“My name is Mark.” He introduced himself. Why didn’t he think of what he would tell the younger when he woke up?  _Good night_  seemed insufficient and beyond awkward to say.

“D-do I know you?” Jackson asked when Mark didn’t say anything else.

“No. But you’re Jackson. Wang Jackson if I should believe my friend.” Mark replied and bit the tip of his tongue at the awkwardness. And the fact he probably ruined Jaebum’s image with Jackson forever. And they never even met.

“Why are we in a coffin?” Jackson asked and Mark rubbed his neck at that. How was he supposed to answer that?

“I dug you out. You were dead.” Way to ease him into the subject Mark deadpanned. “How much do you remember?” He asked the younger afterwards.

“Nothing.” Jackson replied after a few seconds of palpable silence. 


	6. C h a p t e r f i v e

Sitting by his desk dressed in his pajamas Mark was glaring at a book. Not just any book. No the book. The very book that had made a mess in Jinyoung’s and Jaebum’s relationship. Mark had accepted magic was a dangerous thing to play with.  
“It was just because I am inexperienced.” He nodded to himself.  
“Magic isn’t that dangerous. It was mistakes.” He nodded once more.  
“Magic isn’t even that weird. It’s just an illusion.” Mark smiled.  
“Yes. I just have to practice some more.” He reached over the wooden desk and pulled the book towards him. He looked at the front cover and opened it carefully.  
“No more making slaves of my will.” He reminded himself when his mind wandered back to his best friend and his crush. He continued turning pages and read the headlines in search of anything interesting to try out. Mark didn’t know what kind of magic the book contained so he had to look closely at each page. Most magic seemed like it was taken right out of a Harry Potter movie.  
“Love potion.” He muttered to himself and turned the page to the next magic potion.  
“Luck…Liquid luck.” He chuckled as he remembered the potion from Harry Potter.  
“Resurrection.” His eyes widened as his fingers trailed over the headline. He doubted he had read it correctly. He reread the headline and leaned back in his seat. He doubted the potion was even real. No one could bring people back from the dead. Or at least that was what he believed. He had through all his studies never heard of anyone bringing people back from the dead. Even more so with it being without complications.  
Mark took his phone out of his pocket and opened his conversation with Jaebum.  
To Stupid  
If I could resurrect anyone in the world, who should I choose?  
From Stupid  
You’re mental. You ask me the weirdest questions at the most random times  
To Stupid  
I know. That’s why I only ask you.  
From Stupid  
The first name I thought of was Jackson  
To Stupid  
You love Jackson ;)  
From Stupid  
Wrong. Only the J. Jr…Jinyoung. He is my Junior. OMG hahaha! Did you see what I did there? I am fucking hilarious!  
To Stupid  
You’re a facepalm worthy JB. Justin Bieber. Hahaha, I’m funnier. I’ll call you Bieber from now on <3  
From Stupid  
DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE MARK!  
To Stupid  
You love me Bieber <3 <3 xoxo  
From Stupid  
Imagine the many fangirls who would kill to get to write that :D  
Mark laughed and placed his phone on the table. He loved the relationship he had with his friend. So Jaebum wanted him to resurrect Jackson? He could do that. If the magic was real at least. He pulled the book closer again and read the list of ingredients. He raised a brow as he saw the content of the supposed potion. He had everything at home. The only thing he was a handful of dirt from the grave where the person had been buried. He read through the steps of making the potion and didn’t know whether he should be smiling or not when he saw the dirt had to be added last and only a minute before the potion should work. His brows shot to the hairline when a small note was written in pencil next to the beautiful font the book had originally been written in.  
Has to be used during full moon.  
“When’s the next full moon?” Mark picked up his phone.  
“Nothing Google can’t handle.” He muttered and Google’d the calendar of the moon. Mark almost snorted out at the cliché. It was full moon that night, and Mark swore it deserved a scene in a movie or a bestseller book.

Changed out of his pajamas Mark was wearing black. Even darker than when he had gone to Jackson’s funeral. He wore a black beanie over his red hair and even black gloves. He looked over his shoulder as he swung the shovel forwards ahead of him like a makeshift cane. On his back he carried a backpack with a bottle with the potion, magic potion book, screwdriver and a water bottle. He knew it would take him at least two hours of concentrated work to dig up Jackson’s remains. Using the flashlight on his phone he searched the headstones for Jackson’s name.  
“Ms Kim. Mr Song. Mr and Mrs Jung. Wang. Wang Jackson.” The redhead read the names out loud to himself as he walked past the graves he couldn’t use; the graves that didn’t contain Wang Jackson. He shivered lightly and felt how Goosebumps appeared on his skin. Mark couldn’t keep the thoughts of the endless number of horror movies he had watched that had taken place in graveyards. Mentally he was expecting for a hand to reach out of a grave and drag into the pits of black that made Mother Earth at night. He felt his heartbeat accelerate against his chest and his hands became disgusting and moist in his gloves. Mark would have wiped his palms in his pants but the gloves prevented him from doing so. Mark’s eyes darted around the graveyard as he took another shaky step forward to the headstone with Jackson’s name on it. It fit pretty well with this being Jackson’s grave. There were still some fresh flowers on his grave and the grave was raised above the rest of the ground. It was only waiting for the coffin to burst under the pressure and the dirt would sink into the coffin and even out the surface. But that would have to way a little longer. Mark put down his backpack on the ground next to the grave and took a deep breath. He carefully started to move the flowers out of the way. Once they had carefully been spread over the ground surrounding the grave he started digging.  
An hour later Mark leaned against the shovel and sighed. His hand rose to his forehead and wiped the sweat off his brows. He was panting from the exhaustion of digging for an hour. He took out his phone and squinted at the light. 2.34 am. He stepped the shovel further into the ground and left it standing on its own. He turned to his backpack and took out his long needed water bottle. Unscrewing the cap he quickly gulped down half of the content. It wasn’t exactly cold anymore, but it would do. Mark screwed the cap back on and put the bottle back in the bag. He walked back to the grave and stepped down to the level he had reached. He grabbed the shovel tightly and continued his digging.

It had been almost three hours, a sore back and blisters on his fingers before the shovel reached the hard surface of the coffin. The impact shook through Mark’s already exhausted arms and made him groan in pain. Mark looked around the hole he had been digging. He took a deep breath before he continued clearing the entire lid of the coffin. When he was done and tossed the shovel out of the grave and onto the ground above him, his arms felt like jelly. He didn’t have the slightest bit of strength left, and he was even surprised he had gotten that far with it. He stood on the lid of the coffin and tiptoed. The boy dressed in black leaned over the edge of the hole and searched for his backpack. He needed his screwdriver to unscrew the lid. He only had the moon’s misty pale light as help to locate the tool. His fingers curled around one of the shoulder straps and he pulled it closer. It took Mark a few minutes of feeling his way through the bag to locate the tool and pull it out. Wiping his forehead with his sleeve he crouched down and started to unscrew the screws in the lid. When the last screw was undone Mark stepped back. Here came the easiest job to do yet it was the part that took the most of Mark to do. He had to open the coffin to reveal Jackson’s dead body. Would he smell? How far would he be in decaying? The questions were many but he would only get an answer by opening the coffin. He moved aside and curled his fingers under the lid and lifted it slightly. He released a shaky breath only to inhale sharply again. He held his breath as he lifted the lid off the coffin and he released the air trapped in his lungs. Safe for the little dirt that drizzled into the coffin when he lifted the lid, Jackson looked like he had done the day he was buried. Mark buried his front teeth in his lower lip and pushed himself onto the edge of the hole he had dug. Reality hit him. He had just dug up a dead body. What he had just done was a crime. It was grave robbery. He broke a nervous cold sweat under his dark clothes and his chest tightened. What if anyone caught him? He would be done as a human. He would be some animal behind bars in prison. His breath caught in his lungs for several seconds before he hyperventilated. Everything was just so wrong. But it was too late to back out now. Of course he could just screw the lid back on and cover him in dirt again, but he had come this far. He couldn’t back out now. And what if the potion worked? Breathing into his sleeve Mark slowly calmed down enough to get on with his plan.  
He found the bottle with potion in his bag and climbed into the hole again.  
“Here goes nothing.” He muttered to himself and stood with a foot on either side of Jackson’s chest. He crouched down so he was more or less straddling his chest and placed the bottle in the bottom of the coffin. With both hands he carefully pried Jackson’s mouth open. It surprised him exactly how stiff the jaw had become. Didn’t the muscles go slack when people die? Apparently not.  
When Jackson’s mouth had opened, Mark stood up and uncapped the bottle. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand he grabbed a handful of the soil from the grave. He put it into the potion and capped it. He shook the bottle a few times and looked at the dead boy beneath him. He reached into his bag on the ground above him and took out the small flask with the magical serum or whatever it was. Mark sprayed some of the magic potion into the potion he had made before and waited for any sign of activity. When no smoke or minor explosion happened he shrugged and crouched down on top of Jackson again. Sitting on his chest he uncapped the bottle and let the potion pour into Jackson’s mouth. Mark was looking at the dead boy beneath him and waited. And he waited a little more. He looked at his phone to check the time and watched minute after minute pass by with no sign of change on Jackson. Mark frowned and found the flashlight on his phone. Leaning forward he carefully pried Jackson’s eyelids apart. There was no sign of life in the dead and glassy pupils. Letting a sigh leave his lips, Mark stood up and pulled himself out of the grave. He placed his behind on the edge of the grave and took out his book. He was wondering what had gone wrong. He turned to the page with the recipe for the potion and read it closely. He had done everything it said and had all acted within all deadlines. The redhead turned to the next page and let his eyes rake down the page. It said nothing about how to make it work. He sighed and placed his phone on the page, with the screen downwards. He leaned back onto the grass with a groan and left the book in his lap.  
“So much work, for nothing.” He grumbled. “My arms are dead.” He whined and shook his arms weakly in emphasis, even though he wasn’t talking to anyone. He stayed in his position for a short while before sitting back up. He looked down at the book in his lap and his eyes widened. One page had turned back and was covering his phone. The flashlight was shining up through the thin page and cast a shadow over some words that weren’t visible in pen. He slipped back into the hole and crouched down by his chest again. He took a deep breath and looked at the book again and began to read aloud.  
“Nouseva kuoleista, vahva ja vilkas, tuntea syke ja avaa silmäsi. Jaan elämäni kanssasi.” He leaned down and did as the book told he should do. He leaned over the stronger boy’s body and hovered above him silently. He breathed against the other’s lips before he closed the distance between them.  
Jackson’s lips felt hard and cold underneath Mark’s. Mark closed his eyes and tried to keep the fact that he was kissing a dead person at bay. The bile rose in his throat despite his futile attempt and he had to swallow a few times. He inhaled through his nose as he recited the directions in the book. He blew some air into Jackson’s mouth to let the potion travel further into his body. He continued to kiss the boy, his mind not even crossing the fact he was dead again. The lips heated up underneath him, but Mark didn’t notice. He was too engrossed in kissing them to think of it. He let himself drop down on the other’s cold body and cradled his head in his hands. Instructions be damned, this kiss was the best he had ever felt. It was so good it took his breath away. He wanted to pull back from the pleasurable kiss but he was unable to move his lips from Jackson’s. Mark’s lungs emptied, almost collapsed in his chest and the body beneath him expanded. Unable to move or breathe Mark could only kiss Jackson harder, more feverish and more hungrily. A fire spread across his body and he was being kissed back. If he felt good before while kissing the unresponsive lips, he was in paradise when they kissed back. Ignoring everything surrounding him, Mark kept kissing the younger boy until a zap came across his lips. Startled he pulled back and found a pair of confused and glassy eyes looking at him. Silence settled down between them and no one moved. They looked at each other for minutes straight, only blinking occasionally.  
“Jackson.” Mark finally spoke and the confusion in the other’s expression only grew more prominent. The older patiently waited for Jackson to react and he waited for a long time.  
“W-who are you?” The younger asked and kept staring at Mark.  
“My name is Mark.” He introduced himself. Why didn’t he think of what he would tell the younger when he woke up? Good night seemed insufficient and beyond awkward to say.  
“D-do I know you?” Jackson asked when Mark didn’t say anything else.  
“No. But you’re Jackson. Wang Jackson if I should believe my friend.” Mark replied and bit the tip of his tongue at the awkwardness. And the fact he probably ruined Jaebum’s image with Jackson forever. And they never even met.  
“Why are we in a coffin?” Jackson asked and Mark rubbed his neck at that. How was he supposed to answer that?  
“I dug you out. You were dead.” Way to ease him into the subject Mark deadpanned. “How much do you remember?” He asked the younger afterwards.  
“Nothing.” Jackson replied after a few seconds of palpable silence.


	7. C h a p t e r s i x

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything?” Mark asked the younger – now living – boy. The said boy nodded slowly in affirmation.  
“And if you don’t mind…can you please get off of me?” He added and Mark’s eyes widened comically in mild horror. He was still straddling the boy’s waist in a coffin around five feet below the ground level. Mark was scrambling and stumbling in his futile attempt to get out of the grave, his cheeks flaring red in the dark from embarrassment.  
“S-sorry ‘bout that.” Mark gasped when he had finally gotten himself placed on the edge of the grave and looked down at the newly living young man. “It’s just…I had to.” He said and looked off to the side as the embarrassment grew more prominent.  
“Uhm…” A small confused sound came from Jackson and drew Mark’s attention again. “What are we doing here?” He asked and looked around the hole with only his coffin visible.  
“I don’t know how to tell you this Jackson. I don’t even know if I’m the right one to tell you.” Mark started and Jackson moved to sit up in his coffin. “But you died. And now you’re alive. Now get your ass up so we can cover the hole again before dawn.” Mark said and swung his legs onto the ground and rolled onto his stomach to help the very confused fencer up. He knew his words hadn’t been all that gentle, nor explaining, but it was the best he could do with only an hour left until sunrise. The dark-haired grabbed a hold of Mark’s hand and pulled himself out of the grave.  
“You…You weren’t kidding.” Jackson said in mild amazement as he scanned over the view of the numerous tombstones scattered around the area.  
“Obviously not.” Mark replied as he jumped into the grave again to situate the lid on top of the coffin again and jumped back out. He grabbed the shovel from earlier and started to shovel the dirt into the hole. Much to his surprise Jackson bent over with his ass towards the grave and used his hands to shovel dirt into the slowly filling hole.

Just as the first rays of sunlight rose over the horizon, did Mark arrange the last bouquet of flowers on Jackson’s previous last resting place. When he is done he stands straight and looks at his masterpiece and nods in satisfaction to himself.  
“Come on Jackson. Let’s go before anyone sees us here.” Mark said and started to walk away from the pretty arranged flowers. Only he was several steps away when he noticed Jackson didn’t follow him.  
“Jackson.” He called after him again but there was no reaction. “Jackson! Get your ass over here.” Mark called a little louder. Jackson turned his head towards him questioningly.  
“Why do you call me Jackson?” He asked taking Mark completely aback.  
“Because that’s your name. Now come on.” The older replied and waved him over. A growing feeling of being nervous rose within him. If they didn’t get out of the graveyard soon they would get caught there and that would definitely be suspicious.  
“No.” Jackson replied but walked towards him nonetheless. “My name is Ka Yee.” He explained his previous denial. Mark stopped in his track, making Jackson walk into his shoulder.  
“Ka Yee?” The redhead questioned, having a bad feeling wash over him. Jackson had just opened his mouth to reply but Mark beat him to it. “The book!” He turned around and ran back to pick up the book and flask of magical liquid thing. He turned back around and ran back to Jackson, no Ka Yee, whoever.

Mark inserted the key to his apartment and jiggled it a bit along with the handle until it successfully opened for him. He pushed the door open and let Jackson enter first who curiously looked around the room.  
“So, uhm. This is where I live. I am pretty tired right now, so I thought we could go to bed.” Mark suggested and rubbed his neck slightly. “Well, you can go to bed, I’ll sleep on the couch, the bed is over there, the bathroom just next to it.” Mark explained and Jackson looked around the flat not paying much attention to what Mark had just told him.  
“Can I get something to eat?” He asked finally and Mark let out a soft sound of affirmation. Of course the younger would be hungry, he hadn’t eaten in days. Heck the worms and insects might have eaten some of his food. A shiver travelled down his spine. He didn’t want to ever think of that again – ever.  
“What do you want? I have ramen and… well, ramen.” Mark said and chuckled lightly in slight embarrassment, which earned him a laughter from Jackson.  
“I think I’ll go with the ramen. The ramen version please.” He continued to laugh and Mark shook his head in amusement as he made a pot with water and set it on the stove.  
“Are you sure you want the second option? The first is so much more…you.” Mark said and held up two packages of instant ramen. Jackson chuckled when he saw they were alike.  
“What does it say on the packages?” Jackson asked as he stepped closer. Mark brought them down and read what the wrapping said.  
“Kimchi?” He questioned as he saw the flavor.  
“No. Extremely hot. Mark, is there something you want to tell me?” Jackson asked with a sly smirk playing on his lips. Mark spluttered and covered the pot with a lid as he shook his head.  
“No. Not at all.” Marks started and took a deep breath to get over the other’s teasing. “You’re just average looking anyways.” He chuckled dismissively. A comfortable silence fell over them as they waited for the ramen to finish cooking and Mark set the makeshift table with two plates and two glasses.

“You’re sure you don’t want your bed tonight? I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch.” Jackson asked for the 49th time that evening, not like Mark was counting or anything.  
“I’m sure yes. I’ll just take the couch. After all, I assume you’d like a real bed after a few nights in a coffin.” He said and carried his duvet and pillow to the couch.  
“But…” Jackson started only to be cut off my Mark’s very persistent ‘No buts, you’ll be sleeping there.’ And an even more determined pointing of his slender finger to the bed Jackson would be occupying.

The sound of a doorbell sounded from above their heads as Mark guided Jackson through the door to the usual café by the university campus. He quickly scanned the café for a table to sit by. He had checked Jaebum earlier to ask him to meet them. Jaebum had agreed to meet them an hour later, which was 15 minutes by the time they arrived. He waved when Jinyoung appeared from the back but stopped when he saw Jaebum tracking right behind.  
“Bieber?” Mark called out with a devious smirk on his lips. He hadn’t expected Jaebum to ever stop chasing Jinyoung around, but it happened. He was staring back at mark like a deer caught in headlight.  
“M-Mark?” He asked and his eyes flashed towards Jinyoung, to Jackson and back at Mark.  
“No Einstein. I’m Sohee. You know?” Mark asked sarcastically and flashed the most girly pose he could muster, earning a snicker from the barista.  
“Mark? Why are you so dirty?” Jaebum asked, making Mark tilt his head in confusion.  
“Dirty?” The oldest questioned and looked himself. Only then did he notice he was still wearing the same clothes from the night before and he realized he had yet to shower.  
“Oh yeah, he didn’t have time to shower since he dug me up yesterday.” Jackson decided to butt in and Mark paled visibly under the layer of sweat and dirt that covered his face. Jaebum didn’t seem to catch on to the whole deal, but Jinyoung did. He was standing with his mouth wide open gaping like a fish on land.  
“Dug him up?” Jaebum’s eyes narrowed in on Mark with one big question written in his pupils: Are you fucking crazy?!  
“Yeah, about that…” Mark started and pushed Jackson forward towards the counter. “Jaebum, Jinyoung, this is Jackson. Jackson this is JB and his Junior.” Mark said and bit back a laughter at the last statement. His eyes zeroed in on Jaebum who tried to kill him with his eyes.  
“JB and Junior.” Jackson repeated as he bowed respectfully at the two men in front of him.  
“Jackson.” Jinyoung whispered and looked the man. “You’re alive.” He said and Jackson nodded slowly.  
“Yeah, as you can see. I’m standing and my heart is beating.” He pointed out to the other with a crooked smile. Mark assumed the expression to be awkward since Jinyoung didn’t make any sense what so ever.  
“You’re alive. Jackson, you’re alive.” Jinyoung repeated and Jackson only nodded slower as if he thought Jinyoung was slow at getting things. “But how?” He asked and Mark looked away. The question itself made him blush and hide a little in the collar of his jacket from embarrassment.  
“Oh, Mark dug me up and then he kissed me.” Jackson replied and Mark tried to cough to cover up the word ‘kiss’. Much to his dismay, Jaebum’s reaction told him that he had failed and he had caught it perfectly.  
“My my. He kissed you?” he asked to clarify and Jackson nodded again, raising his brows and widening his eyes slightly as he confirmed what he had been asked.  
“You surely aren’t that smart either of you, are you?” Jackson deadpanned and sent Mark into a fit of laughter.

The four of them had sat down by Mark and Jaebum’s usual table with their usual drinks, Jaebum with a slice of cake and Jackson had gotten a smoothie. Jackson had been telling more thoroughly how Mark had managed to bring him back alive, but none of the two seemed to believe him much. They had repeated a couple of questions again and again, to the point where it was obvious Jackson was getting frustrated with their lack of intelligence.  
“The thing is, I’m not even called Jackson. My name is Ka Yee.” Jackson finished off making confusion rise to all three expressions in front of him. Jinyoung quickly fished out his phone and searched the name that was all over the media lately.  
“This isn’t you?” He asked and held up the phone with a picture with Jackson in his full fencing uniform.  
“It looks like me.” He commented and eyed the picture curiously. “And this is the Jackson you’re talking about?” He asked and Jinyoung nodded in affirmation.  
Mark zoned out as they continued to talk about Jackson and Jackson’s previous life. He was looking around the café as he had done so many times before. He didn’t find anything new that was interesting to look at, so he focused his eyes back to the two in front of him. That’s when he remembered Jaebum had come from the back in the café along with Jinyoung when they had arrived and not met at the agreed time.  
“…yourself to Youngj…”  
“Hey. Jaebum. What were you doing in the back just before?” Mark interrupted the conversation and looked expectantly at his best friend.  
“I uhm…” He started and Mark looked at him, eyes working like a hawks for any signs of what was going on. He didn’t fail to notice how Jaebum’s arm shifted under the table nor the way Jinyoung’s followed it. Mark’s eyes widened in realization. He had been to busy with digging up Mark to think of Jaebum’s failing confession. He had refused to look at Jaebum’s stunt and just as his ‘I love you’ had left his lips, Mark had left the café.  
“Shut up Jaebum.” Jinyoung told his best friend and Mark almost choked on nothing. Jaebum was whipped if Jinyoung could make him shut up like that. “You see, I don’t know where Jaebum suddenly got the guts to confess like that from, but anyone doing that deserves a chance.” Jinyoung explained and it only peaked Mark’s interest.  
“What did he do?” He asked seeing Jinyoung didn’t take it as his cue to continue.  
“After acting like a complete dick the previous day…” Jinyoung started making Mark cringe slightly. He felt like he was to blame for that. “…He manned up and hugged me the day after. You had barely entered the room when he held me against his chest. He simply said ‘I love you’, turned me around and kissed me. In return I ended up spilling the caramel macchiato I was making on him.” Jinyoung laughed softly and Jaebum rubbed his stomach, probably where the drink had spilled a couple of days prior.  
“It hurt you know.” Jaebum whined childishly. Mark rolled his eyes. Jinyoung reached over and pecked his pout whispering something sounding along the lines of oh I’m sorry Pooh Bear. I’ll kiss the booboo away later. Mark was about to die. His bit into his fist and had to hide his face in Jackson’s shoulder not to laugh too loudly. He felt how Jackson’s shoulders shook underneath him and he knew he was struggling not to laugh too.  
Jaebum’s face was priceless when Mark looked up. He was completely red from his chest to the tip of his ears and Jinyoung was sitting next to him with the slyest grin Mark had ever seen. Life was definitely going to be more fun with him around like that.


	8. C h a p t e r s e v e n

Mark opened his eyes with a frown of confusion folding his face. Sounds were coming from the bed behind the couch and they worried Mark. He pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched the kinks out of his joints and stiff muscles. He placed his feet on the floor and pushed himself into a standing position. He padded towards the dark-haired boy on the bed and frowned as he heard whimpers leave his lips. He placed himself on the edge of the mattress and reached over to place his palm on the other’s arm.  
“Jackson?” He spoke softly and moved his hand up and down his arm gently. “Jackson wake up.” He encouraged him gently as he kept stroking the strong arm beneath his hand. The fencer stirred slightly before opening his eyes wide and round.  
“Don’t touch me!” He exclaimed and moved as far away from Mark as possible, back leaning against the headboard. “I said: Do not touch me.” He repeated even with Mark still sitting unmoving by the edge of the mattress. The redhead blinked confused repeatedly as Jackson kept spewing nonsense at him. He knew no way of calming him down in anyway except moving away from the fencer again.  
“I’m sorry.” He said softly not knowing why he was apologizing at all. His mind was racing backwards for any memory of the night before that could have Jackson reacting to him like that but came up blank.  
“Go away!” Jackson continued loudly and Mark jumped back from the bedside, frightened by the outburst. The redhead picked himself up from the floor and backed away from the younger, unable to ignore the painful twist that occurred in his chest. He swallowed thickly and nodded slowly as he went back to the couch and climbed under the again cold blanket. He couldn’t sleep though. He laid with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling above him deep in thoughts. He didn’t understand why Jackson reacted that way towards him. They had had such a good time together during the day and now he wake up in the middle of the night, being screamed at by the younger like he was the devil himself.

Slowly the heavy blanket of darkness was lifted from the room as the sun rose from behind the horizon and Mark sighed heavily. It had been hours and he was no closer to a conclusion than he had been when it happened. He knew Jackson had gone back to sleep deemed from his snores that happened every now and then. He pushed himself off the couch and stretched out all of the kinks of his body again. He went back to his makeshift kitchen and started to prepare breakfast. He didn’t prepare anything fancy. He fried some rice he had in the fridge from the night before and added seasoning to it and reheated some white fish with it. That was sufficient for them he decided. When he deemed the breakfast done he went over towards the sleeping male and gently placed a hand on his arm.  
“Jackson? Jackson please wake up.” He called softly and watched the hazy, sleep-drowned dark eyes flutter open. “Good morning.” He greeted him and pulled back after squeezing his arm gently scared he might push him away. “Breakfast is ready.” He told him and walked to the other side of the room where he stirred the pan with rice and fish. He placed plates and two sets of chopsticks and glasses on the table that made his desk as well as dinning table. Lastly he carried the pan over along with soy sauce.  
“Good morning.” Jackson greeted him as he slipped himself into the chair and Mark followed him into his own chair.  
“Good morning.” Mark greeted him surprised and started to serve some food for the younger boy. “Did you sleep well?” He wondered as he continued to serve himself some of the warm dish as he stretched his neck slightly to the side to ease the pain from the awkward position on the armrest.  
“I did yes. I had a OW GOD DAMN IT!” Jackson exclaimed as he grabbed his glass of water desperately. Mark had dropped his chopsticks in shock and tried to figure out what had happened. He stifled a chuckle when he realized the dark-haired fencer had burnt his tongue and picked up some of the rice and made sure to blow on it before he ate it.  
“Good to hear you slept well except the God damning it.” Mark chuckled and Jackson glared at him.  
“Ha, ha, so funny Mark.” Jackson said with a voice dripping of sarcasm. Mark couldn’t help but let his chuckle turn into a light laughter much to Jackson’s annoyance.

“Jackson? What are you doing?” Mark asked when he turned his attention from his homework to the younger boy. He had been working on his homework for a few hours and was finally done. He turned his head only to see the other pacing back and forth in his room, fingers tugging at his hair.  
“Don’t! Don’t talk to me!” Jackson shouted, taking Mark completely by surprise. He sat immobile in his chair for several long seconds, not knowing what was going on.  
"You’re still mad at me?” He questioned. Despite the way Jackson was acting he wasn’t prepared for his reply. It was harsh, unforgiving and hurt more than a suckerpunch to the gut.  
“Mad?! You’re DISGUSTING!” The younger had shouted at him, every word shown in the honesty of his eyes. Mark could only see the disgust in those dark brown orbs. The redhead turned his head to look at the other as he paced on.  
“I can’t even look at you right now. You’re so disgusting I can’t even… How could you make yourself do it? And why the heck would you do that to me?” Jackson asked without as much as sparing the redhead a glance. It hurt a lot more than he would like to admit.  
“W-what did I do?” Mark asked. He hated how his voice cracked mid-sentence, but he couldn’t help it. Jackson had grown on him through the couple of days they shared together. He had seen their short knowledge of one another to grow into a beautiful friendship. And all of those ideas came crushing down on him in a matter of a few seconds.  
“What did you do? What did you do?! More like, what didn’t you do?!” Jackson shouted at the top of his lungs. Mark jolted backwards in surprise by the sudden lash of anger directed at him. He mind spun a hundred miles per hour to figure out what he could possibly have done to offend the other enough to earn himself this reaction from the younger.  
“Oh, I don’t even know where to start.” Jackson started seeing Mark didn’t say anything to defend himself. “Let’s start with the fact that I’m alive.” He spat at the older, his voice dripping with venom. Mark didn’t even know how to respond to that. He knew it could be Jackson would be freaked out about that. Scared even. But he never foresaw the reaction would come several days after he had actually come back to life.  
“But before that, you know what happened? You made a grave robbery!” Jackson accused Mark who couldn’t say anything in return. Jackson was right about the accusations.  
“Then lets continue to the fact that you dug me up and you can’t even give me a proper reason as to why.” Jackson continued, words and accusations falling from his lips like lips at Niagara Falls. Mark looked at the floor. It had never been more interesting than it was right then. He knew Jackson was right. He had broken more laws than he could count, but the written ones and the ones of nature itself. He had brought a man back to life and he didn’t know which consequences it would have to the world. He had been selfish and ignorant to everything he had learned from other books and stories where the main characters or the villains had broken the laws of physics and someone had had to pay the price with a life.  
Mark’s eyes widened with realization. Someone would have to let off their life for his selfishness and desperation for answers.  
“…ention you kissed a fucking dead person Mark!” Mark shook his head. Not in denial but in disbelief. Having words attached to his actions had him see everything in a new perspective. He hadn’t even listened to Jackson’s words because he was too busy thinking through what he had already done. He could only imagine what would happen as a punishment to this. His chest tightened painfully. He hadn’t lost anyone close to himself, so someone out there had lost their life on behalf of his greed. He didn’t know how to act or deal with the situation. He felt terribly sorry for whom his life he had taken as well as the family. He stood up, no longer listening to Jackson’s endless disgusted rambling and picked up the book from his desk, buried beneath his school books along with the small flask of magical liquid. He turned up on the pages where he had found how he could wake people from the dead. He read through the pages quickly. Mark didn’t think he had ever read anything this fast before and probably would again.  
“…kiss the corpse…” he read aloud and continued turning pages back and forth looking for something that could give a clue of consequences of doing magic. How could he have been so stupid not to have considered that?  
“Are you even listening?” Jackson asked the older outraged and slammed his fists into the desk. Mark didn’t even as much as flinch as he was too busy reading through everything the book had to say about the magic.  
“The hell Mark! Is that magic? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jackson said and hit Mark’s shoulder harshly. “Are you trying to tell me you used magic?” He asked in disbelief. “Magic doesn’t even exist.” He said and shook his head violently. “You’re insane and delusional.” The young fencer claimed and walked towards the door. “That’s it. I’m out of here. You’re crazy Mark. Fucking crazy!” He shouted before the door slammed behind him.  
It took Mark several hours to realize the younger had left him.

“HE WHAT?!” Jaebum shouted at Mark when he told him Jackson had disappeared. If Mark hadn’t been just as freaked out as Jaebum was, he would have laughed at how Jaebum’s voice cracked into a high-pitched sound that bring girls to shame. “You just let him walk right out of your apartment without even attempting to stop him?” Jaebum asked the redhead who could only nod. He didn’t know what had happened; just suddenly the fencer was gone.  
“Do you have any idea where he went?” Jaebum asked and Mark shook his head.  
“He doesn’t remember anything and he believes his name is Ka Yee remember? And I don’t even know him. I just know we have something in common.” Mark explained the slightly younger man who looked at him in disbelief. It was obvious Jaebum was judging him so hard for his actions and Mark couldn’t blame him. Magic didn’t exist, yet here he was rising dead people from their graves and attempting to make friends fall in love. One more successful than the other.  
“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Mark asked his best friend desperately. He was the one he knew who knew the most about the fencer besides him, which was closer than nothing. But he really hoped the other had heard something through his gossiping circles. Anything he could use.  
“I don’t know.” Jaebum said and Mark slumped into a position that was bordering pathetic. “But I know someone who might.” Jaebum hadn’t even finished the sentence before Mark had thrown himself at the younger and hugged his neck tightly.  
“Who is it? Jaebum I need to know. Please.” Mark pleaded. Jaebum looked around and nodded slowly.  
“His name isn’t rare and I don’t know much about him. I don’t think you can possibly find him.” Jaebum said and Mark waited impatiently for the answer he was looking for. “He is known as quite the geek when it comes to religion and art. He is a genius they say, but I don’t believe it.”  
“Cut to the case Jaebum. What’s his fucking name?” Mark wanted to know. He didn’t know the other information. Only the name.  
“All I know is that his name is Youngjae.”


	9. C h a p t e r e i g h t

# C h a p t e r e i g h t

“Youngjae. Youngjae. Who the fuck is Youngjae?” Mark asked himself repeatedly. Next to him, Jaebum’s hand came into his vision. Whenever it did, Mark turned to glare at his best friend. He couldn’t use his idiotic ideas for anything. And whenever he raised his hand, he wanted to speak. A bad habit from school.

“Have you tri…Ow god damn it!” Jaebum cursed and held his hand close to his chest. “You hit me! Bastard.” He cursed.

“Shut it Jaebum. I’m thinking.” Mark scolded his younger friend.

“But I thi…”

“Nobody cares what you think Bieber. Shut up and stay the fuck quiet.” Mark hissed annoyed Jaebum wouldn’t listen.

“Listen to me Mark damn it! He goes to the university. You work there. You have _access_ to every cursed student identity number in that forsaken and cursed place! And don’t you ever call me Bieber again.” Mark stopped in his tracks and looked at Jaebum in disbelief.

“Why the _hell_ didn’t you say that earlier?!” Mark exclaimed in disbelief and sent him a glare. “Here I’ve been thinking for _hours_ on end and you couldn’t even tell me that?!” Mark hissed angrily and made an attempt to hit the wall of the building they were passing. Only Jaebum’s hold on the back of his shirt and a quick yank backwards prevented him from hurting himself.

“As a matter of fact I _did_ Mark. I have been trying to say that for the whole time you call hours. As matter of fact - again - it was only…” Jaebum looked at his phone to take a look at the time. “27 minutes. No 28.” He told him. Mark let out a frustrated groan and shrugged Jaebum’s hand off his back.

“Who the hell cares? To the library.” Mark demanded and started walking. A light chuckle was heard behind him and he spun on his heels to glare at his best friend.

“The quickest way to the library is through the cafeteria.” Jaebum said and pointed towards the university building that held the said area. Another groan left the redhead who grabbed a hold of Jaebum’s wrist and dragged him towards the entrance.

 

“You see, this is the exact reason why I would walk around.” Mark commented as Jaebum was searching his wallet for the few coins he needed to buy the sandwich he insisted on buying.

“Well, I’m sorry Royal Asshole, that I got hungry and the cafeteria was on the way.” Jaebum shot back and handed the coins to the lady by the cash system. They bowed at each other and Mark rolled his eyes.

“Do I need to remind you, you have a boyfriend too?” Mark asked. Much to his relief Jaebum rushed out of the paying-area and practically dragged Mark to the library.

“You didn’t have to tell her that you idiot!” He hissed at Mark as they entered the large, dusty-smelling room that made Mark’s work place.

“Oh would you stop it. It’s not like you’re going to date her when you bat for the other team. Now move. I have to find out who Youngjae is.” He demanded. Mark aimed straight for the back room where he had been printing and folding callbacks a few days prior. He turned on the computer and waited impatiently for it to turn on.

“Jaebum? Why is technology always against me? It never corporates with me.” Mark whined as he stood leaned over the keyboard impatiently.

“If you started treating it more nicely it will most likely work better.” Jaebum suggested, earning him a glare from Mark.

“It’s a machine. It’s required to obey my every wish. It doesn’t have feelings nor a brain to think for itself.” Mark told his idiotic friend who only shrugged lightly.

“Tell that to your fleshlight at night when you go _oh yes baby_ to it. _You’re so good_.” Jaebum mocked with a grin. Mark threw a pen at him before he pounced at him.

“If you’re so sure they have feelings, why don’t you go and flirt with the computer?” Mark suggested as he clung to his stronger best friend and rubbed his knuckles against his scalp. Trying to pry Mark’s hands off, Jaebum staggered over to the machine and placed a hand on the screen.

“There there sweetheart. I know he is being mean. But for me, would you please work a little faster? I promise I’ll have Mark bring you something good tomorrow.” Jaebum said obviously joking. Mark’s eyes widened when the computer gave sign of being ready to use just as Jaebum stopped.

“You lucky bastard.” Mark commented and let go of the other in favor of opening the program they used with information about each student. Mark searched for the name Youngjae. It had all too many results for him to choose which one was the right one.

“I know.” Jaebum said and looked over the list too. “You won’t find him there,” He commented. Mark sent him a glare, he was well aware of that.

“Don’t you know anything about this Youngjae?” Mark asked his all-knowing friend. Jaebum looked up and to the side slowly deep in thought.

“Well, I think he is in your year. Something about being into art.” Jaebum said but his voice was filled with doubt. That alone was not often seen from Jaebum. Mark narrowed down the search and came up with three Youngjaes that fit that description.

“You don’t have one more thing you can tell me?” Mark asked him almost pleadingly. “We need to find Jackson before he makes a disaster. He is famous and supposedly dead.” Mark reminded Jaebum who was almost showing the white in his eyes from thinking so hard.

“I think…I think his name is Choi. Choi Youngjae.” Jaebum said after several painful minutes. Mark’s eyes zeroed in on the names on the screen and were beyond happy only to see one Choi. He clicked his name and his profile came up. He noted down his phone number on his own phone and shut the computer off.

“This better be right.” He muttered and called the number.

 

“Thank you Jinyoung.” Mark said and as he took the usual hot drink from the barista.

“When did you say Youngjae would come?” the said man asked and looked at Jaebum curiously.

“In 15 minutes. He seemed rather confused we wanted to talk to him about Jackson.” Jaebum said and looked at Mark to make sure he didn’t give out false information. Mark nodded in confirmation and looked towards the door. When he looked back, Jinyoung was perched in Jaebum’s lap and leaned his shoulder against his chest with a cup of chocolate in his hand. Mark gave a smile. He was happy his friend had found someone to love. More so, someone that loved him back too.

“Don’t you think that cake is too small?” Mark asked and pointed to the slice on Jaebum’s plate. Jinyoung turned to look at the slice and blushed. The so-called slice was at the size of half the cake in the display by the counter. And the cake usually cut eight slices Mark had noticed.

“It’s just perfect.” Jaebum announced and hugged Jinyoung’s waist before he could answer and placed a wet kiss on the barista’s cheek. Mark couldn’t help himself as he rolled his eyes at the public display of affection. If he hadn’t been so happy for his best friend he would actually have found the scene sickening.

Mark never thought he was going to be saved by the bell, but a dark haired boy entered the café and quickly locked eyes with Mark. Mark stood up and walked towards him to greet him.

“Youngjae right?” He asked and bowed to the newcomer. He received a nod in return and Mark smiled. “Good, I’m Mark, the one that called you.” Mark introduced himself. “Now come along. I’ll make Jinyoung make you something to drink as I fill you in.” Mark said and walked back towards the seats they were occupying.

“Listen, if you got me here to get some juicy gossip about Jackson then you can just give up already.” Youngjae told them and Mark nodded understandingly.

“I don’t need to talk to you for gossip. I have enough in that guy over there already.” He said and pointed towards Jaebum. “His name is Jaebum. His boyfriend and your barista is Jinyoung. I’m Mark as you know.” He introduced them all to Youngjae.

“What do you want from me then?” Youngjae asked Mark suspiciously.

“I have some questions about Jackson.” Mark said and realized how it sounded. He raised his hands defensively. “No gossip. I swear.” He told the boy.

“I don’t exactly believe you. Explain why you need the answers first.” Youngjae demanded and Mark nodded understandingly.

“Alright. This sounds crazy, and it is crazier than it sounds, I can assure you that. Alright. Jackson has spent the last couple of days with me. He stayed in my apartment the past couple of days.” Mark told and saw the disbelief forming on Youngjae’s face.

“You can’t be fucking serious.” Youngjae said and rolled his eyes. “And here I thought I had heard it all.” He said and leaned back against the chair. “Jackson is dead. _Dead._ D - e - a - d.” Youngjae spelled out for him. Mark couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He knew he was _supposed to be_ dead.

“I know.” Mark assured him. “I know he was supposed to be, and pretty much was dead, but something happened and he spent the past couple of days in my apartment. Though he doesn’t remember who he is, and now he ran away. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” Mark tried to explain as kindly as he could manage to the other.

“Are you saying Jackson is up and about somewhere in the world on his own, having no idea who the hell he is?” Youngjae asked and Mark nodded in confirmation. It took Youngjae about three seconds before he broke down and laughed his ass off in the chair he had been placed in.

“Oh my! That is hilarious!” He exclaimed and shook his head in disbelief. “You’re so weird and so stupid it hurts. People don’t rise from the dead you idiots.” He gasped for like his life depended on it - which it kinda did.

“Well, Jackson did. I kind of dug him up and stuff.” Mark said and fidgeted in his seat. The youngest looked at him like he had grown two heads.

“You’re crazy. No one can wake people from the dead. No one. Not even you. This isn’t the fucking Bible and Jackson isn’t Jesus.” Youngjae pointed out and Mark could only nod in agreement. He surely wasn’t Jesus.

“But I do magic.” He said before he could stop himself earning several curious glances from people nearby. Youngjae’s disbelief was obvious. He scoffed and rolled his eyes at Mark before leaning back in his seat. “Okay. You don’t believe me…” Mark concluded and took a deep breath, as he thought of how he could convince what he was saying was real. “What can I do to make you believe?” He wanted to know. He knew it was like shooting in the dark but he knew he needed the other to believe him.

“Prove to me you have magic. And then I might consider believing that you actually brought Jackson back from the dead.” Youngjae said and Mark nodded almost too eagerly.

“Let me get my book and I can suggest a few things I can do right here.” He said and reached into his jacket pocket. He kept the magical book with him at all times along with the flask. It could always end up helpful. He turned up on a random page and skipped through the next couple of suggestions. He couldn’t do anything too barbaric.

“Sammakko sammakko tule taas, näytä kasvosi ystävässäni.” Mark chanted and pulled the green flask out and sprayed the green liquid at the unexpecting barista. Before their eyes, the startled boy started shrinking in Jaebum’s lap into the size of four inches before all characteristics turned into ones of a frog. In a matter of about a minute, Jinyoung had turned into a green and disgusting frog in Jaebum’s lap. With an almost comical effect, a golden crown magically appeared on the top of its head and the frog quaked in dismay.

“Holy fuck.” Youngjae muttered and Mark grinned proudly. It was the first time he had tried the spell and it had worked perfectly the first time. Now that was something he could be proud of he thought.

“Holy, possibly. Fuck, not so much.” Mark replied and grinned wider at the surprised male in front of him. “Believe me now?” He asked and the dark haired boy only nodded.

“The magic will wear off in…I don’t really know, so while we wait, can you possibly help me find Jackson again?” Mark asked the boy who could only nod.

“But he doesn’t remember who he is.” Youngjae pointed out and Mark realized they were at a dead end. How could they find someone they didn’t even know?

“Don’t you have some magical tracking thing?” Youngjae asked and motioned to the spell book in Mark’s lap. Mark shook his head lightly. He had read through all spells, and nothing worked to find something or someone. All of them slumped down and even the frog gave a displeased sigh.

“Will you at least help us then?” Mark asked and Youngjae nodded.  
“Nothing interesting in my life has happened in a long time. This is probably going to be the most exciting thing that will ever happen to me.” Youngjae claimed. Mark couldn’t help but shake a feeling off, a feeling that Youngjae couldn’t possibly be more wrong.

“Do you know of any place Jackson would go when he needed some peace and quiet?” Jaebum asked as he picked up Jinyoung from his chair and placed him in his lap.

“He would usually go to training ring for fencing when he was upset, but if he doesn’t remember fencing then I highly doubt he would go there.” Youngjae replied thoughtfully. “But maybe… There is this playground close to where he lived a few years ago. Something bad happened there, Jackson never told me what, but it has been kind of his sanctuary since.” He continued.

“I say we go there.” Mark said and stood up, not wanting to waste any time.

“I agree, but until you changed Jinyoung back to human or the magic wears off on its own.” Jaebum said and stayed put in his chair with the green frog perched on his lap.

“Oh please, just bring him. It will wear off sooner or later.” Youngjae told him.

“What he said.” Mark said and pointed with his thumb at their new friend.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to Youngjae who finally made a proper  
> appearance. As some of you guessed in chapter  
> something, Youngjae would appear again and most  
> likely have great importance in the story as well.  
> And I don't really think, Jinyoung is too happy about  
> being a frog all of a sudden.  
> And can't we just agree that Mark is an asshole   
> to Jaebum when he is thinking? I feel kind of bad  
> for his best friend :) Stay tuned. Until next time.


	10. C h a p t e r n i n e

C h a p t e r n i n e

They walked side by side towards the playground. Jaebum was holding his frog boyfriend in his hand while walking next to Mark. Youngjae was walking in front of them, leading the way to the playground. It was silent between them and Jaebum kept sending annoyed glares at the redhead for transforming his boyfriend. Mark did feel the stares but he decided to ignore and look the other way whenever he had to hide a smile from the younger. A loud yell escaped Jaebum just as Mark looked away to smile to himself and the oldest turned around to face him and burst out laughing at the sight. A long pink tongue had attached itself to Jaebum’s lower lip and Jaebum was nothing short of panicking and trying to pry the tongue off his lip. Mark on the other hand was standing hunched forward, hands on his knees and laughing his heart out. Tears soon blurred his vision and he had to admit defeat to the younger boy-now-frog. He was a perfect match for his best friend.

“Are you two-three coming?” Youngjae asked and Mark gulped down several calming breaths before he was able to stand straight.

“Coming.” He croaked out. It earned him a ribbit from the frog and Mark let out a chuckle and sent a thumb pointing up to the green animal. Jaebum on the other hand glared at him and placed a palm over the frog so that they couldn’t communicate anymore. The oldest let out a huff of disapproval but didn’t comment on it further. Instead he walked towards their new friend and soon caught up with him.

“Sorry, it’s just that the just kissed his princess but the gesture wasn’t really received well.” He said with another chuckle and had Youngjae smiling along.

“Fair enough, that was funny.” He agreed and they started walking side by side with Jaebum following a step behind them.

 

Entering a more poor area of the city, Mark let a shiver run down his spine. The grass was unkempt and the weeds grew through the fundaments of buildings right about ready to collapse any second. Creepy folks were lined against fences to secluded areas, cigarettes hanging loosely from their lips and Mark definitely felt out of place. Hungry eyes stared at him as he walked past a group of young men, their eyes spelling out _money_ for him. Only Youngjae’s steps that didn’t waver a second had Mark keeping up and his eyes glued to the ground. He hadn’t even noticed Youngjae had departed off the sidewalk and stepped onto a path hidden beneath wild weeds. It was Jaebum who grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him - probably a bit too forcefully - along with them and into the playground.

The redhead looked around the playground Youngjae had been talking about. It wasn’t anything close to being a nice place but it wasn’t out of place considering the rest of the area. He wouldn’t even let children have access to this place. It worried him the gate wasn’t locked. The grass was unkempt and overgrown with weeds; a swing was only hanging in one chain, the other having long since broken from weatherly wear and rust. An obnoxious squeaking came from a carrousel that turned slightly in the wind. At least as much the weeds would allow it to. A cold shiver ran down Mark’s spine. It seemed like a scene from a low-budget horror movie and he didn’t like it at all. Turning his attention from the scenery to the people accompanying him he watched as Jaebum carried the frog in his palm, eyes flickering from his boyfriend and to the path ahead so he wouldn’t fall. In lack of better words, he found the sight cute. But a part of him also expected the mythical horror of the playground to come and attack the two any second.

Mark walked opposite the frog and its _princess_ and started to search the playground for any sign of Jackson being there, or just a human presence in general really. He walked along the fence of the playground, eyes darting in all directions, desperately searching for a figure that could appear human. He looked up and down and pretty much everywhere he could see as he moved around as eyes were scanning the overgrown playground. He decided to believe Jackson wouldn’t be hiding anywhere in the built places. They could collapse any second thus Jackson wouldn’t have been curled up inside the playhouse or napping on the slide.

When he had been the entire way around the playground, Mark sighed and looked around for Youngjae, Jaebum and his company. He looked over at the two human figures and headed towards them. Youngjae didn’t see him coming and he turned around to continue his search. Mark though stopped by his best friend and crossed his arms over his chest annoyed with their lack of result of locating Jackson. He shouldn’t be that hard to find.

“He is harder to find than I first thought.” Jaebum spoke, practically taking the words out of Mark’s mouth.  The older nodded in agreement and turned his head to follow his newest acquaintance with his eyes.

“I doubt he is even here and even Youngjae doesn’t seem to know what he is doing. He has been circling the playhouse about a hundred times already.” Mark pointed out and sighed lightly. He really wanted to find the younger. They couldn’t have someone running around the town that was supposed to be dead after all.

“He has? I didn’t notice.” Jaebum said and used his free hand to scratch his neck. “Do you think the playhouse is special? I mean, he could be circling many other things around the playground too but he is stuck around the playhouse for this long.” Jaebum pointed out. Mark thought about his words for a while and nodded slowly to himself. That did in fact make sense. Without saying anything else they walked together towards the other and looked around. They wondered what could have the other circle the playhouse for that long.

“Jinyoung!” Jaebum suddenly exclaimed and almost threw himself after his hopping boyfriend. But before he had gotten a hold of the animal, he had disappeared into the weeds and Jaebum scrambled to relocate him without luck. Mark watched the slightly younger scramble around for his boyfriend with obvious amusement on his face. The frog had hopped himself and obviously didn’t want to sit in Jaebum’s palm anymore.

“Let’s go back. Jackson isn’t here.” Youngjae said just then and Jaebum declined instantly.

“Not until I find Jinyoung. Then you can go without me.” He said and kept moving the weeds and grass out of the way in an attempt to look at the ground beneath the wilderness.

“Then I’ll leave by myself. Jackson usually comes out when he wants to be found. You might as well give up.” He said and Mark narrowed his eyes slightly at the younger.

“Then we will just stay around until he returns. I can’t let him wander the streets on his own.” Mark pointed out and looked at Youngjae. “I brought him back so he is my responsibility.” He said not wanting to discuss it further. Youngjae could leave if he wanted to, but he was going to stay and wait.

“It could be days before he returns.” Youngjae countered and Mark blinked a few times in disbelief.

“A few days? But he needs to eat too.” He pointed out not believing what Youngjae was telling him.

“It’s up to you what you’re doing, but good luck staying here for the better half of a week. First time I waited he was gone four days.” Youngjae claimed and Mark narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the younger.

“Four days?” He repeated in disbelief.

“He would die if he stayed away for that long.” Jaebum pointed out. Mark nodded vigorously and pointed at Jaebum, making it obvious he agreed with his point. Youngjae on the other hand just shrugged lightly.

“You’d be surprised. He doesn’t seem like he is away from civilization when he disappears for days. He looks pretty normal and _clean_ when he returns.” He said and placed his hands in his pockets. “You shouldn’t too much. He will come back at some point.” He continued with a slightly bored tone to his voice.

“I don’t know about what he used to do, but I’m not leaving here. He is supposed to be dead and buried in the freaking graveyard. I can’t have him running around the city like he owns the place.” He countered and made a point of sitting down into the weeds with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew the act was childish but he didn’t really care. He was staying behind and that was final. It earned him a ribbit of disapproval and behind him Jinyoung revealed his frog-form. Jaebum bent down to pick him up but he bounced out of reach and entered the playhouse.

“And what do you plan to do if GOT7 comes around?” Youngjae asked, speaking of the name so casually. Mark’s eyes snapped to the younger and he swallowed thickly.

“G-GOT7?” He stuttered and looked up with frightened eyes. “They come here?” He asked feeling his mouth suddenly dry. The country’s most feared gang was staying in this area?

“Yes. They are told to have their headquarter here.” Youngjae continued and crouched down in front of the redneck. “But that’s okay. You can’t have Jackson walking around the city when he is supposed to be dead.” He said and gave a feigned understanding smile and patted Mark’s cheek a few times with his hand. Mark swallowed thickly and looked into his lap as he contemplated whether or not to stay at the playground.

“Jaebum? What do you think?” He asked and turned to look over his shoulder at his best friend.

“I don’t think anything. I need to find Jinyoung.” He dismissed Mark’s beginning panic attack.

Mark thought hard about what he was supposed to do. His morals told him to stay and wait for Jackson to return, but GOT7 was a serious threat that wasn’t supposed to be taken lightly either.

“Then I guess you two are staying.” Youngjae confirmed for the two of them before he turned around and left them to be alone at the playground.

“Jinyoung?” Jaebum called out trying to find his boyfriend but he got nothing in response, and finding a small frog was practically impossible with the weeds that surrounded them.

“Jaebum?” Mark interrupted him. “What are we going to do about food?”


	11. C h a p t e r t e n

C h a p t e r t e n

It was uneven and painful. The way the too big stones dug into his back through the all too thin sleeping pad. He let out a pained groan and rolled onto his side only to continue onto his stomach. A stone had been digging into his hipbone painfully. He was laying up against Jaebum now and was using him as a bodily shield. They still hadn’t found Jinyoung who had been gone since earlier. Jaebum wasn’t happy but he had given up after hours of looking and went to his parents’ place to get a tent and some food. That had gotten them some home-cooked rice dish with chicken and a dry place to sleep. Mark sighed annoyed with the surface he was laying on and ended up rolling completely onto the younger man and placed his head in the crook between his head and shoulder. The new position allowed Mark to lay comfortably on Jaebum. He curled his legs on top of Jaebum’s in his sleeping bag and it didn’t take many minutes before the redhead was fast asleep and snoring away on his best friend.

 

Mark woke up with a shriek unlike any other and rolled off the younger. He hit his hip against the stones through his sleeping bag and moaned in pain. But that wasn’t the most uncomfortable he experienced. A hand flew up to his ear just in time to feel something wet and sticky retreat from the inside of his ear and he looked around in horror. Sounds of disgust escaped the oldest as he tried to dry out his ear of the slimy - whatever it was. When his ear was finally dry he searched the tent for the source of the sticky thing he had had in his ear and almost instantly spotted a very smug-looking frog on Jaebum’s chest.

“Jinyoung.” Mark spat and the half-awake boyfriend jolted awake instantly.

“Where?!” He demanded to know as Jinyoung fell into his lap with a disapproving quak. “Jinyoung!” He exclaimed loudly and Mark winched at the sound.

“Biased much.” The redhead muttered disapprovingly as he wiped his ear for emphasis. “What did you even do?” He asked and looked at the frog that Jaebum was now cradling close to his face. Mark could have sworn the frog smirked at him and rolled it’s tongue out to attach to his cheek, having him yelp in surprise and disgust again. When the tongue let go of his cheek again, Mark wiped it down as quickly as he could and frowned at the frog.

“Now that’s just disgusting.” He complained and flicked a pebble towards the green animal.

“Yah! Treat him well!” Jaebum demanded but Mark wouldn’t have it.

“He licked me in the fucking ear, like hell I will treat him well:” He said firmly before shaking his head. “I’m not treating him well until he stops licking my ear.” He huffed angrily.

“You probably deserved it.” Jaebum just said, causing Mark to drop his jaw.

“Did you just take the side of a frog?” He asked in disbelief and Jaebum shrugged before beaming at hid supposedly boyfriend.

“I just took Jinyoung’s side yes. Suck it up big boy.” Jaebum said and brought Jinyoung out of reach for Mark to hit at. Mark huffed in annoyance, slipped out of his sleeping bag - with several protests from the younger - and slipped out the tent. Jaebum was slower in getting out because he had to take care of Jinyoung too. Mark was far off and away from the tent when he heard Jaebum struggle through the opening in the tent.

“Mark wait!” He called after him but Mark ignored him. Not because he was mad at him but he still wanted away from the lovebirds. It was disgusting the way it was shoved in his face - literally. He stomped away, fumbling his way through the playground, careful not to fall over anything. He sat down into the grass and looked at the sky. It was dark, completely void of stars. He heard Jaebum’s heavy footsteps approach him, but he didn’t want to run further away. Why was Jaebum so persistent?

“Mark?” Jaebum’s voice came out more careful now. Mark looked off to the side in response; making it obvious he didn’t want to talk. “Please talk to me.” The younger requested from him and he shook his head. A dejected sigh was heard but no retreating steps. Jaebum was still there. “What did I do?” Jaebum asked while he shuffled around. Mark guessed he had sat down.

“Nothing.” Mark replied and heaved a sigh too. “Just…leave me alone.” He said and lowered his head. A whole lot was going on lately. Maybe he did overreact to Jaebum but it was just the last bit to everything.

“Mark, you don’t get mad about nothing. Tell me what is wrong.” Jaebum fished for an answer, one Mark didn’t want to give him. Looking back now, it was a kind of pathetic reaction to have.

“It’s nothing, I guess too much has just been going on lately and I can’t really keep up.” He replied and tilted his head backwards to look up at the younger. “I’m sorry.” He added before looking ahead of himself again.

The silence from Jaebum proved he was thinking but he never said anything. Only his retreating footsteps and Jinyoung’s occasional sounds could be heard through the night.

 

 

“Who are you?” A stranger’s voice sounded outside their tent. It was harsh, cold and demanding. Fearful tremors crept down Mark’s back and he stared at Jaebum with wide eyes. The latters pupils dilated with fear and his eyes turned to look at the tent opening where the voice had come from. Mark copied his movements and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly. He couldn’t utter a word.

“J-just two students camping.” Jaebum managed to stutter out. Low murmurs were heard from the outside, indicating there were more than one person. Mark curled up in his sleeping bag, scared for his life, without a chance to do anything to defend himself.

“Really now?” Another voice sounded confirming Mark’s theory. It sounded almost amused with the reply. “And why would you be camping on a playground here?” He asked and honestly Mark didn’t know what to answer.

“We just thought it could be funny. You know, we are just two spoiled kids and we wanted to try and live on our own in the wild, and this was the best we could come up with.” Jaebum explained and Mark looked at him with a horrified expression. Jaebum returned it with an expression that clearly asked ‘what?!’ and Mark only shook his head. The people outside were laughing at Jaebum’s words and it made Mark relax visibly. Maybe his crappy storytelling just saved their asses.

“It’s okay, we understand. Who are you with?” They asked and Mark shook his head telling Jaebum not to tell who he was.

“Mark. His name is Mark.” Jaebum answered and Mark sent him a harsh glare.

“Ah, of course of course.” They said and their tone changed completely to more friendly ones. “You two just take your time. We won’t disturb you any longer.” They laughed and the two inside the tent listened carefully as their footsteps retreated from the area along with their voices.

 

“Fucking hell!” Jaebum cursed when he put his luggage down in his room, Mark following right behind.

“You don’t say.” Mark muttered lowly in agreement with his best friend. After placing down their bags they both fell onto the bed. Well Mark let himself fall backwards in exhaustion while Jaebum sat down carefully. Mark watched him place the frog on his pillow and patted his head gently with the tip of his finger. Mark couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the ridiculous display.

“Who the hell were they even?” Jaebum asked as the turned from Jinyoung and placed his attention on Mark. The latter could only shrug. He had no idea. But thinking back, it seemed they knew who they were. He wasn’t sure if they did, but there was something that could seem it.

“I honestly have no idea.” Mark replied. “Well taken from the rumors going around, I would say it could be the local gang. You know, GOT7? But I don’t know for sure.” Mark voiced out his thoughts. He was worried. He was pretty convinced they knew who they were, but what they had said didn’t make any sense to him. Quite the opposite actually. Obviously they had mistaken them for someone else.

“I really don’t get it.” Jaebum said after a few minutes of silence.

“That won’t be the first time.” Mark commented with a chuckle earning himself a slap to the arm. It only had him laugh harder.

“As I was saying…” Jaebum started, speaking louder than necessary so Mark wouldn’t interrupt him again. “I don’t get where Jackson went to. Youngjae said he went to the playground but obviously he wasn’t there.” Jaebum pointed out and Mark nodded slowly in agreement.

“Maybe he saw us coming?” Mark suggested after a while of thoughtful silence.

“You think he is avoiding us?” Jaebum asked with a voice full of doubt. Mark shrugged and shook his head.

“I don’t know.” He had to admit. “Hopefully not.” He added. He really hoped he hadn’t. “We will just hope we find him again. He is still supposed to be dead. He can’t walk around on his own in a city where he was loved by most.” Mark exclaimed. It was obvious - even to himself - the desperation in his voice.

“On another note, do you have idea when Jinyoung will return to his human form?” Jaebum asked while he picked up the frog from its seat on the pillow and placed it on his chest before he laid down himself. The frog jumped around so it was facing Mark and he had never felt more uncomfortable being stared at.

“I…I honestly don’t know. I thought it had ended now.” He said and he meant it. He really thought it would be over within the magical 24 hours. Or he would have changed at midnight or some of that cliché Disney things, but noooo, the world just had to laugh at him.

“Are you serious? Can’t you like try to see if you can change him back?” Jaebum asked and Mark sucked his lips in between his teeth.

“I didn’t see anything, but I can take another look.” Mark said and stood up from the bed. It earned him an approving quak from the frog. Mark went to his bag and pulled out the book quickly skimming through the pages. There was nothing about transforming Jinyoung back into his human form. He nibbled on his lower lip as he tried to come up with possible solutions to getting his best friend’s boyfriend back. He rested his weight onto the bag as he thought. What could he possibly do? It wasn’t like he could reverse Bippety Boppety Boo. Or could he? He had no idea. He could try. What was the worst that could happen? He killed the frog? Worth it! Okay, maybe not. He picked up the green flask he had hidden safely between his extra clothes. Well it was Jaebum’s he had borrowed but that was beside the point. Shifting it from one hand to the other, Mark contemplated his choices. Taking a deep breath he turned around and looked at the frog with determined eyes and dramatic arm-movements. He should become an actor in his next life. He hunched over dramatically to give the feel of looking mysterious and he could have sworn Jinyoung was judging him. He jumped the last bit towards the frog and sprayed the creature.

“Oob Yteppob Ytoppib!” He shrieked and closed his eyes. He waited. And he waited a little longer. No sounds. Nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another handful of hints have been given in this chapter, but  
> they aren't clear and you have to be really observant to notice.  
> (I hope at least :) )


	12. C h a p t e r e l e v e n

“Thank the frog lord! I’ve had this damn wing stuck between my teeth for hours!” Jinyoung’s voice sounded. Mark didn’t know whether he should laugh from the comment or cry from relief he hadn’t killed him. He felt mostly for hugging the daylights out of the barista really. His eyes snapped open and he was met with the sight of Jaebum trying to kiss him while said boy had half his fist in his mouth trying to pick something from between his teeth. A wing, Mark remembered.

“What do you mean wing?” He asked and just then Jinyoung produced a thin see-through wing. It seemed to belong to…

“A fly.” Jinyoung confirmed Mark’s thought. This information had Mark cringe in disgust but Jaebum didn’t seem to mind at all. He only tried harder to get to Jinyoung’s lips.

“Let me make you forget the fly.” Jaebum said, muffled by Jinyoung’s hand against his jaw and a couple of fingers over his lips.

“That’s disgusting Jaebum.” Jinyoung complained and Mark laughed.

“Smallest cockblock ever.” Jaebum finally gave up, causing the other two to burst out laughing.

“It doesn’t matter I’m here does it?” Mark questioned his best friend with a cheeky smile.

“Not really. We both know you’ve always had something for my ass.” Jaebum retorted and Mark raised a brow in question.

“Really? I don’t think so.” He claimed and Jinyoung smirked at him.  
“It’s because you want his dick instead.” He said and Mark flushed a dark red at that. Guilty as charged, but in his defense it was a long time ago.

“Really?!” Jaebum exclaimed horrified. His reaction was enough to make Mark forget about his embarrassment and laugh at Jaebum together with Jinyoung.

“Welcome back to the human life again.” Mark said once he had stopped laughing again. Jinyoung smiled and nodded at him in return.

“Thank you for going fairy godmother on me.” Jinyoung said and Mark flushed even darker red.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He claimed and looked away from the other two to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh please you want all Cinderella there.” Jinyoung laughed and Jaebum tagged along when he realized where the joke was.

“I haven’t watched Cinderella.” The older claimed and the two only laughed harder.

“And you can call my dick Princess from now on.” Jaebum choked out between hiccups of laughter. Jinyoung looked at Mark. The eyes he was giving him said it all. Mark placed a hand on his hand on his chest and shook his head. Only a second later Jinyoung had turned around so he was laying on his stomach facing Jaebum’s crotch. A finger moved forward and poked Jaebum’s dick through his clothes.

“Hi Princess.” He cooed before he rolled off his boyfriend and laughed so hard he ended on the floor by the feet of a very much flustered Jaebum. Mark was in no better state than Jinyoung and had to sit down not to double over and fall. Before he knew, he was curled up on the floor crying from laughter and randomly poking at the air before laughing breathlessly again.

 

“Hey boys.” Youngjae said as he sat down by the table where Mark and Jaebum were already sitting. Mark was pigging through the leftovers of Jaebum’s lunch since his own wasn’t nearly enough. The redhead raised his chopsticks in greeting to the younger and continued his work on the steamed vegetables Jaebum had left over along with a few pieces of pork.

“What are you up to?” Youngjae asked as he reached over to snatch a piece of pork from Mark’s plate. Mark went all out chopstick-wondo on his hand and pulled his plate out of his reach.

“Talking, and that fella over there is eating.” Jaebum replied and focused on the new arrival. Youngjae sent the redhead a disapproving glare and Mark returned with a sheepish smile as he stuffed his cheeks with the last slices of meat.

“Did you find Jackson yesterday?” He asked and Mark shook his head and slumped his shoulders. “There was no trace of him.” He said though it was barely understood. His mouth was still full of food. “On the other hand…” He swallowed. “…we got Jinyoung back to his human self. And Jaebum didn’t have to kiss him.” Mark chuckled and sent a subtle wink at Jaebum before he continued. “I guess Jaebum didn’t get to find out if he was a princess.” He said and his smug smile stretched from ear to ear. The statement had Jaebum choke on his saliva and flush red in embarrassment as he remembered what had happened in his room.

“Princess?” Youngjae asked in wonder and looked from the flushing student to the eating one.

“Let’s say Jaebum Junior is called Princess thanks to Jinyoung.” Mark chuckled after removing a few meat fibers from his teeth. “Anyways, how is your project coming along?” Mark asked Youngjae. He didn’t want to discuss their night out once again. He didn’t really want to cover the subject of a frog licking him in the ear.

“It’s coming good, though I think I could use a little more help, you know?” Youngjae said and Mark nodded in understanding. Who hadn’t been stuck on a report without knowing what to write? “I think I just need another pair of eyes on the papers and the works I’m analyzing.” He continued and Mark nodded. “We can meet after school? I have a two-hour lecture and then I’m off.” Mark suggested and looked at Youngjae expectantly. Youngjae nodded without thinking much.

“I’ll just wait outside your class. My lecture is scheduled to end in an hour. But I can just try and write some more while I wait for you to finish your lecture.” He said and nodded to himself. “But I gotta go. Class is starting in…now.” He said and stood up after glancing at the time on his phone. “See you later.” He called after Mark before he left the cafeteria.

 

Mark sat through the lecture, paying no mind to what the professor was saying thought the entire hour he was talking. His professor was so monotone in his way of speaking that he was successfully lulling everyone to sleep in no time. Not a single student in his class could say they had followed all classes without sleeping. Not without lying at least. Mark had managed to stay awake this time though. When the lecture ended, Mark got up and headed out making a mental note of what he had to study for the next time. He waved when he saw the younger waiting outside for him and headed over to him.

“Ready?” Youngjae asked and Mark nodded before stifling a yawn.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here. I’m in dire need of oxygen.” He complained and hooked his bag further up on his shoulder and trotted towards the exit of the university without making sure Youngjae was keeping up with him.

“But Mark, we need to get a new book from the library. I found it online searching through literature and reserved it. Do you mind if we pick it up?” Youngjae stopped Mark with a hand on his shoulder.

“A new book? Sure.” Mark agreed unable to hide his excitement about this book. It was always interesting with new books and new views on art. Mark was definitely not one to turn that chance down. Together they turned around and headed towards the library. Youngjae headed straight to pick up the book he had reserved, Mark though took a detour through the tunnels of bookshelves and stopped where he had found the magic book and flask. So much had changed since then really. And it had only been three weeks. He tapped the floor board with the tip of his shoe before he returned to the desk where Youngjae was checking out the book.

“Oh yeah, you have a book at home that hasn’t been returned on time.” Mark remembered how he had seen the red title when he had been printing out bills for the students about their books.

“Really? Which one?” Youngjae asked, genuinely surprised by Mark’s reminder.

“It’s called Religion and the Arts.” Mark said as he recalled the title of his favorite book on the subject. “I wanted to give it to you, but it wasn’t here when you asked for help. I just noticed it was out in your name.” Mark explained and Youngjae nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh that! Yeah, I didn’t get to read it yet. Could you perhaps show me the important parts for me to read so I can bring it back?”

“Well of course. Get that book checked out and we can go to your place and I’ll show you.” Mark agreed instantly.

 

The two arrived at Youngjae’s flat and Mark entered without much care. Resulting with him falling face first onto the bed. Behind him, Youngjae was laughing until he was unable to breathe anymore, clapping his thighs and leaning against the closed door. Mark struggled out of the mattress with discontent grunts of frustration.

“Why the hell is your bed placed right there?” Mark complained and tried to straighten out his clothes and regain the last bits of his pride in front of the other.

“It makes a wonderful trip trap for anyone who enters.” Youngjae laughed and let his bag slide off his shoulder.

“Let’s just go to work on your project.” Mark grumbled as he tried to nurse his pride back to health.

“Sure, if you can move around the bed without tripping over it again, my project is pretty much spread out on the floor.” Youngjae said and Mark’s eyes lowered onto the floor. Papers were scattered everywhere. Books, copies of pages from books, sketches and pages from reports all covered the floor and Mark had to admit he was impressed. He would never had been able to find head or tail in that mess.

“Did you find out which problem you want to investigate for your paper?” Mark asked as he maneuvered his bum onto the floor between the stacks of paper.

“Not really. I’ve been looking into minor religions but nothing seems to be around here. Youngjae frowned and sought through his papers. “Have you heard of any?” He asked Mark and looked over at him hopefully.

“I don’t know of any religions as such. Something though caught my interest.” Mark said and picked at the carpet under the numerous papers. “I’ve heard something about a group of people calling themselves Suuri Joukko, or something like that. Honestly I don’t know anything about them, but…” Mark trailed off. “I know I have a paper coming up that could be combined with yours. If you want, we could work together on researching this group and write a paper on them?” Mark suggested and looked up at his newly attained friend.

“Suuri Joukko?” Youngjae questioned with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Yeah, it sounds weird right. I can try and sketch the few things I know about them?” Mark suggested. He wasn’t going to admit it was a dream or memory he knew the group from. He didn’t even know if it was a religion or not. It seemed really cult like, but he knew nothing about them.

“Sure. Here.” Youngjae said and handed him a pad of paper. Mark picked up a pencil close by him and started to sketch out what he remembered from his _whatever it was_. He drew the mark he had on his chest. A C with a crown on top. Then he sketched the way the men had held their hands with the heel of their palms connected and so were their thumbs and pinkies. He wanted to draw the knife too, but he was simply unable to recall the decorations on the handle and it wouldn’t make much help. He handed the sketches to Youngjae who looked at them and hummed softly to himself.

“Interesting.” He murmured after a while. “Let’s google these people.” He said and reached for his laptop. He googled them and pursed his lips as he sought through the headlines.

“Not much is coming up. And not much means nothing that is remotely related to religion. How do you spell it?” Youngjae asked and Mark admitted he didn’t know.

“Just try to spell it all the ways you can think possible?” Mark said and stretched out his legs in front of him. Youngjae nodded and deleted things he had typed before he started typing again. For almost 20 minutes none of them said anything and Youngjae typed in alternate ways of spelling the name. Mark was laying on his stomach by then and turned pages lazily in the book Youngjae had picked up from the library today. He looked up every time Youngjae made a frustrated sound before he resumed skimming through the pages. He didn’t really read what was in the book but looked at pictures instead. That was until he found the very hand position he had drawn for Youngjae thirty minutes prior. _Suuri Joukko_ , the title said and Mark almost choked on nothing.

“Youngjae, try this. S-u-u-r-i J-o u-k-k-o.” Mark spelled out and moved to read along on the computer now. Youngjae did as he was told and looked up the spelling. There were several links on the page that looked promising. Youngjae clicked on the first one, waiting for the page to load.

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but my younger brother will stop by soon. He will just be sitting here doing his homework. I promised to look after him until our parents are back from work. I don’t see why though. He is 18 already. He doesn’t need a babysitter.” He complained shortly. Just then a knock sounded and Mark couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Doesn’t seem like I have a choice now does it?” He asked as the door opened.

“Hey Hyung…Oh, Mark Hyung, you’re here too?” A young man greeted them and Youngjae waved in response. Mark on the other didn’t understand shit. How the hell did the boy know him?

Mark looked from Youngjae to the newcomer and back again. Wasn’t he going to get an introduction? No?

“Hi…uhm…” He greeted the youngest and smiled slightly strained at him.

“Yugyeom, Hyung. It’s Yugyeom.” The younger introduced himself in a tone that made it seem like Mark was supposed to know who he was. He did recognize his voice though, he just couldn’t recall from where.

And awkward silence settled in the room and it was bothering Mark more than it probably should.

 “You know, Youngjae, I’ll just see you in school tomorrow. Now that we know how to spell the name, why don’t we both try do some research until we meet again?” He asked and stood up, eyes occasionally darting to Yugyeom.

“Sounds good. I should start cooking the kid some dinner too. See you tomorrow again? Are you all going to meet at the café again tomorrow?” Youngjae asked and Mark nodded in response.

“Mr. Wannabe Bieber is going to get his cake there from Jinyoung.” Mark confirmed and walked towards the door. “If you hear anything from Jackson, let me know?” He asked the fencer’s best friend.

“Jackson? Isn’t he with GOT7?” Yugyeom asked and Mark watched how he looked at his older brother for confirmation. Everything seemed to click into place just then.

“You were there. At the playground.” Mark gasped and pointed at Yugyeom. “Youngjae, you _know_ GOT7?!” Mark asked horrified. He pointed an accusing finger at the pair. “You two…” He trailed off, not really knowing how to react. Yugyeom’s eyes widened and he turned paler by the second. Something was not good. Even Mark could tell. 


	13. C h a p t e r t w e l v e

Mark was walking home from Youngjae's apartment in a daze. Youngjae and his younger brother _knew_ about GOT7. They _knew_ where Jackson was - probably - and they never thought about telling him? He kicked a pebble angrily, because what did they know? Definitely more than they let on, that was for sure. Frowning with frustration he was sure he was going to grow wrinkles from thinking so hard. And who the hell were those Suuri Joukko people?  Unfortunately it was too late for Mark to look through things like that. He would have do his research the morning after. As if to underline that thought, Mark yawned widely and with his hands too deep into his pockets to bother cover it. It was already dark anyways and Mark was pretty much alone in the streets. As he approached the door to his apartment block, Mark dug out his keys from his back pocket and walked up the stairs, two steps at the time. A person was hanging out in the hallway but Mark paid no attention. It was an apartment block for students only, some drunk ass bastard in the hallway wasn't an uncommon sight to Mark. He minded his own business and inserted the key to get inside when the person turned to face him. Mark could almost have shat himself when he saw the face but instead launched himself to hold onto the other's neck.

"Jackson!" He exclaimed loudly and held the much more built - but very dirty - man. His face was covered in a spray of blood and his clothes were ragged and torn. The smell of sweat, dirt and blood filled Mark's nostrils and he drew back revolted by the sick smell.

"You're going to shower and then you're going to explain yourself." Mark ordered the younger fencer and pushed him into the apartment, making a straight beeline for the bathroom, hands firmly placed on Jackson's broad shoulders. When Jackson was far enough into the bathroom, Mark backed out and closed the door.

What the hell had happened to Jackson? And why did he look like that? Where had he been? Was he hungry? Was he hurt? Questions flooded Mark's mind faster than he could sort them out and organize them into actual questions he could ask him later. As his mind filled thoughts, Mark's body worked out of habit as he stripped himself systematically, folding the shirt then jeans, then socks and he wore basket shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. He pulled his sleepwear off the bed and dragged it to the couch so that Jackson could have the bed again. He sat on the couch, crossed legged and underneath a blanket playing a stupid game on his phone he had completely forgotten he had downloaded ages prior. He had beaten his high score more times than he bothered to count when the bathroom door opened and Jackson stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

"Geez! Don't you have decency?" Mark complained as he tossed his phone aside, and stood up. "I'll find you some clothes damn it." Mark grumbled under his breath. A small - and more awake - part of Mark told him it was his own mistake for not giving the younger some clothes but he was seriously going to ignore that part of him to blame Jackson for everything. He got off the couch and headed to his closet, pulling out the first and best pair of boxers, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, tossing it in Jackson’s direction.

“Here, and change in the bathroom. I don’t want to see your dick dangling around out here.” He said and flopped onto the couch again, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew his behavior was childish, but he really didn’t care. He had gotten way too much into his head for one night and then Jackson just had to show up. Jackson of all people had to show up. Fuck his life.

“Alright?” Jackson said, his voice carrying traces of disbelief, worry and humor, and Mark hated it. When Jackson came back out of the bathroom, Mark was still sitting on the couch, pouting like a five year old who had been denied candy. Only difference though, was what his mind was filled with. GOT7, Suuri Joukko, Yugyeom and Youngjae and where Jackson had been, and why Jackson looked like he did. He didn’t like not knowing something like that. Especially not when he felt it was somehow related to himself.

“You done sulking?” Jackson asked and Mark looked up at him slightly unfocused nonetheless.

“No.” He said, “I was never sulking. I’m thinking. Where have you been?” He asked the other and narrowed his eyes slightly at the boy.

“Where I’ve been?” Jackson sounded surprised by the question and shrugged at him. “Just somewhere. Last time I checked you weren’t my mother.” He said making Mark frown harder. The redhead stood up and walked over to the stronger built man and pushed a finger to his chest.

“You listen to me right now Jackson Wang. I got you out of the dead - and I have no idea what I was thinking - but I did. I supply you with clothes and food whenever you decide to be around and you even sleep in my bed so you better bloody start telling me things or I’ll kick you right back into your assigned resting place and leave you there to rotten up. _Literally_.” Mark growled at the younger man who looked slightly scared by Mark’s outburst.

“Alright.” Jackson said and raised his hands in surrender. “I went to a playground. I go there whenever.” Jackson said and Mark almost - keyword: almost - slapped Jackson right then and there.

“I fucking know you went to a playground. I camped there in an attempt to find you, you ungrateful bastard.” He gritted out through his teeth. Jackson looked possibly more scared at this and backed away.

“C-calm down Mark. It’s nothing. I just needed a breather from life. There is a small cabin close by the playground where I stayed.” Jackson explained and Mark took a step back.

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” He asked him and smiled. A small cabin? He hadn’t seen anything, but if Jackson said so, he had to believe it.

“Can I go sleep now?” Jackson asked carefully and Mark let out a soft laughter before shaking his head.

“You think I’m done? No. Why did you look like you had stood front in a blood bath when you came home?” He asked trying to keep the accusing tone out of his voice but failing miserably. Jackson took a deep breath as he looked at Mark, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“I was hanging out with a few friends. They kind of freaked out because I’m supposed to be dead, you know? And yeah, it turned slightly messy.” Jackson explained in a casual way making Mark raise a brow in question.

“Are you sure that’s all there is to it?” He asked him, voice laced with doubt. “You still looked like you had slaughtered someone.” Mark pointed out and Jackson nodded in reply.

“I’m pretty sure that’s all there is to it.” He confirmed.  The redhead sighed and sat back down onto the couch, crossing his arms over his chest again.

“Next time at least tell me if you’re leaving.” Mark muttered before he pulled his blanket over his body and placed his head on the armrest.

“Good night.” Jackson said and walked away from the couch and slipped into Mark’s bed.

“G’night.” Mark parroted and turned onto his side, letting sleep take over his body. For the first time in his entire life he dreamt _the dream_ on a night that wasn’t the night between September the 10 th and 11th.

 

“Mark!” Mark woke up with a jolt, a scream and covered in sweat, completely out of breath. Jackson was hovering above him making the redhead scramble backwards and over the armrest of the couch. He fell off the edge of the couch, hitting his ass on the floor before he fell backwards and everything turned black.

 

“Mark? Mark? Mark for fucks sake wake up!” The redhead woke up to a throbbing pain in his head and a loud screaming of his name. He tried to raise his head just slightly and settled for bringing it back down again. It hurt too much to move. Instead he tried to open his eyes with the same result. He had no idea of what was going on really. He didn’t even know where he was. He just knew it didn’t smell like his own place. The screaming around him became more frantic and more voices matched in. He wanted them to stop. He tried to tell them to be quiet but only a low rumble of a painful moan passed his lips. Nonetheless his attempt was successful.

“Thank god he is waking up.” A voice sighed with relief.

“Mark?” Another fit in along with the other and he groaned again. Couldn’t they just be quiet and leave him to die in silence? He groaned again in response and managed to turn his head into the soft surface under it. He inhaled softly and smiled to himself. It smelled good.

“Mark for crying out loud. You need to wake up!” A voice broke into his short distraction but only served as an even better distraction. That voice would fit this smell just perfect. It was a match made in heaven to Mark.

“Look how he smiles.” A small airy chuckle sounded.

“Jaebum, he isn’t ready to wake up. Keep watching him Jackson, I have to get to work and Jaebum to school. Jaebum will tell the office what happened to Mark. Just make sure to wake him every thirty minutes okay?” A voice said and Mark groaned again. Couldn’t they just be quiet? Slowly the group thinned out and wherever Mark was, it turned quiet.

Mark tried to go back to sleep but the pain in the back of his head was simply too much for him to ignore and he opened his eyes after several minutes of feeling more and more pathetic. His vision was blurry and unfocused. Whenever he tried to focus on anything, his vision swam. He raised an arm to cover his arms with and let out a groan of frustration.

"Oh, you're awake?" The nice voice from before spoke and Mark nodded weakly. "Do you want a painkiller?" It asked again and Mark nodded instantly. He was usually against taking medication for anything but at that point he felt like Death was breathing down his neck. So if he was going to die from pain or from pain, he really didn't care. At least he made an attempt to survive. Some shuffling sounded and what seemed to be an eternity later, strong arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him into sitting position. He felt how he was carefully cradled in the other's embrace and felt perfectly fine leaning against a broad chest. 

"Open your mouth." A soft voice spoke next to his mouth and Mark could only obey letting his jaw loose it hinges. "Here comes the water." The voice explained and Mark felt what appeared to be a bottle to his lips and he tilted his head slightly backwards, letting the liquid fill his mouth. When the bottle disappeared he kept his mouth closed but otherwise nothing happened. "Uhm..." The other said slightly confused. "Swallow?" He said and Mark did just that. 

"Geez, I got a baby to take care of now." The stranger mumbled and Mark snuggled into his embrace. He couldn't wait for the headache to go away. Or die. Whichever was perfectly fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plenty of updates in a row as I have to confess I forgot to update the story here when I updated on AFF. But yeah. Here the last 3 chapters are I have written until now.


	14. C h a p t e r t h i r t e e n

The thumping in his head had died down some. At least it wasn’t as violent as it had been last thing he remembered. He shifted slightly to get into a better position but found himself trapped against something warm. And he was kind of sitting up too. He wasn’t laying down completely, that was for sure. Despite every fiber of his being telling him not to, Mark opened his eyes to examine the situation he had found himself in. He found a pair of arms around his waist and something warm was pressed against his back. He had been placed in Jackson’s bed (which was technically his but currently occupied by Jackson) and was covered by the duvet Jackson had been using. No wonder it smelled so much like Jackson where he was laying.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Jackson’s voice sounded from behind him, making Mark shoot forward in surprise and something close to a heart attack.

“Holy hell!” He exclaimed loudly before he clutched his forehead with his palms with a painful groan.

“Easy man. You got yourself a concussion. You can’t move too fast and you shouldn’t be speaking too much either.” Jackson scolded him in a low voice behind him. “But if you scoot forward just a bit I will get out so you can lay down properly and get some more sleep.” Jackson offered and Mark did just that. It was reluctant he moved but he had to. He couldn’t claim Jackson like his personal back support forever. When the younger was out of the bed he laid down, making sure to place his body where Jackson had been placed before so he could soak up his warmth and smell. Not because he was creepy or anything. They simply calmed him down in a nice way.

“My head hurts.” Mark mumbled into his pillow. He hadn’t intended for anyone to hear it, but with the feet padding across the floor, Jackson had heard him and was going for something. Mark closed his eyes and snuggled deep into the pillow and pulled the duvet tighter around his shoulders. He had just lost track on the real world when a hand shook his shoulder.

“Here, got you some painkillers. It’s a bit too early for you to take them again, but if you’re going back to sleep I don’t think the 30 minutes matters that much.” Jackson said and maneuvered an arm underneath Mark’s form and settled himself behind him again. “Open your mouth.” He requested and Mark complied. He simply followed the order of the younger and let himself be put back into the mattress and tucked in.

“Sleep well. And don’t hurt yourself.” Jackson requested in a playful tone. Before Mark could react properly, he was fast asleep on Jackson’s bed.

 

A sizzling sound was cutting into Mark’s mind. He couldn’t tell where it was from or what caused it. But it was soothing. Reminded him of something warm and homey. He stayed still where he had been placed and listened to the sound that filled his ears. He rolled onto his back lazily and stretched out. His head was still hurting but at least he could remember he had been awake and Jackson had given him painkillers.

“Jackson?” Mark’s eyes snapped open and he stared at the ceiling from Jackson’s bed. When had Jackson even come home? What had happened? He was going to ki…

“Yes?” Said person answered. Mark’s train of thoughts were cut off immediately. The older sat up instantly. He tried not to let it on, but his vision was swimming and his skull felt like it was about to split in two. He cupped his forehead tightly and let out a painful groan as he tried to collect himself.

“Easy there.” Jackson soothed him as he came closer. Mark couldn’t see him but he could hear his footsteps on the floor.

“Try sit up slowly. I’ll help you.” He said and wedged his arm under Mark’s shoulders again and carefully lifted him into a sitting position. “Better?” He asked ask Mark rolled over against his body and hugged him.

“Just give me a second.” He mumbled lowly. His head was swimming and he clung onto Jackson’s body to make sure he was sitting somewhat still. He was pretty sure he was motion sick or something. The entire world was spinning off its axis.

“What are you doing here?” Mark asked finally. He felt Jackson tense next to him and he had to pull back to look at him carefully.

“I live with you don’t I?” He asked. His voice was awfully insecure regretful. Mark instantly felt bad for asking so bluntly.

“You do.” Mark assured him as he shifted so he could bury his face against Jackson’s neck and block out the light. “But where have you been? You’ve been missing for a few days. We even went looking for you.” Mark murmured against his neck. He felt Jackson shiver against him but paid it no mind.

“I went to see some friends.” He replied. Mark remembered being told that before.

“Right. There was a cabin close to the playground?” Mark asked vaguely remembering being told that too. IT seemed like his memory had decided to come back to him in pieces. Next thing that crossed the inside of his eye lids were the bloody memory of Jackson in the hallway. Scared by the memory and the fact he could possibly be hurting Jackson now he pulled back, barely holding on to his shoulders for support.

“How are you feeling?” He asked and forced his eyes open to take in Jackson’s state. Much to his surprise there wasn’t a scratch visible on Jackson’s skin and he was dressed in clean clothes and his hair was still damp from a shower. Now that he paid attention, Mark could also feel the shower warmth still stuck on Jackson’s body.

“Surprisingly well.” Jackson replied and reached out to have a hand on Mark’s shoulder. Mark nodded slowly as he could see the other didn’t hold any major physical harms.

“What happened to me? I remember…not much but I have been out for a while.” He muttered and looked around. The sunlight came into the apartment almost orange with a purple tone to it. It came in through the windows facing west. It was late evening now.

“You had a nightmare. I tried to wake you up but you got scared when you saw me, shot back off the couch like a bullet and fell on the floor. You managed to hot the back of your head against the lower shelf on the bookcase.” Jackson explained, motioning to the objects he was talking about. Mark nodded dumbly. He didn’t want to turn his head. He was scared the world would spin the other way if he tried and he was just getting used to this rotation.

“And what’s that sizzling sound?” He asked. Jackson’s reaction was almost priceless. Wide eyes and panic stricken. Mark would have laughed at the view if it wasn’t because he was practically shoved back onto the bed with the words like _shit, fuck, the pan!_ Ringing in his ears as his world spun once again. His insides churned violently and he could feel bile rise in his throat. Before he could request a bucket he was heaving over the bedside and onto the floor.

The sound of his stomach content rung hollowly against the floor. It didn’t sound like he had expected it to. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at a bucket already placed there. Sighing with relief he laid back onto the bed. He placed a hand on his stomach to will another wave of disgust to go away.

“Are you okay. I thought I heard… Okay, at least you hit the bucket.” Jackson murmured as he picked up the plastic container from the floor and towards the bathroom.

“Thank you.” Mark wheezed and looked towards his night stand. The bottle with water he assumed Jackson had used to feed him the pills with stood there. He reached out and gulped down the rest of its content as he waited for Jackson to return.

“Good think Jinyoung told me to place a bucket there. You got a concussion.” He explained to Mark. “And I’m about to cook you something light if you’re hungry.” Jackson told and Mark nodded. As if on cue his stomach growled. He didn’t even remember the last time he had eaten was.

“I am.” He agreed. He pulled off his duvet and carefully moved around so he had his feet on the floor. “Give me a hand?” He requested and Jackson placed down the bucket in favor of supporting Mark towards the kitchen area of his one room apartment.

 

“So tell me again. You went to this cabin next to the playground and you met up with your friends there?” Mark requested as he pointed at Jackson with the fork he had just emptied for meat before he spoke. “Where do you even know those friends from? You didn’t tell me you remember anything from your past life.” Mark said and swallowed the bite he had hidden against his cheek while he spoke. He stabbed into another bite of meat and brought it towards his mouth as he looked at Jackson expectantly. The younger looked at him with wide eyes and swallowed the bite he had just taken. Mark didn’t recall he had chewed on it at all. He would have to remind him about chewing his food later. Right now it could wait.

“I didn’t. I just went out for a walk really. I just walked and somehow came across the playground. I saw a group of people looking at me weirdly. In all honestly I hadn’t considered the fact I was supposed to be dead by then so I asked them what was wrong. They told me I was supposed to be dead. That they buried me and they didn’t understand. I told them I was pretty much alive and well, they didn’t believe me. They thought I was some sort monster and they tried to beat me with whatever they could find. But I dodged it every time. Only the last blow I couldn’t avoid without hurting someone, so I attacked the attacker and threw him off his feet. He hit his hea…I wonder why people hit their heads around me. First him then you. Anyways. He hit his head hard enough to burst his skin. He was bleeding and I immediately felt bad because that wasn’t my point. I took my shirt off and used it to press against his head to stop the bleeding and I treated his wound. He had blacked out so I had to take care of him. The others couldn’t stay with him. They had to attend to school and stuff. So I stayed with him for a couple of days until he was alright again. Much like I’ve done with you. He refused to go to the hospital so that wasn’t an option. So when he was back up and standing I came back home. I had to wear my dirty shirt back so I wouldn’t walk back half naked.” Jackson explained.

“Okay, that explains the blood I guess.” Mark mused and pointed the fork at him again. “But who are those friends. Your best friend is Youngjae.” Mark pointed out and looked at the younger expectantly.

“He is?” Jackson asked with genuine surprise in his voice. Mark couldn’t help but tug the hair on the side of his head lightly in despair. Jackson was completely clueless to everything around him.

“Yes, He is your best friend. Well he was. Before you died. Haven’t you talked to him at all since you became alive again?” Mark questioned the younger who only shook his head lightly in response. “Seriously?” Mark sighed and shook his head too but for another reason. “And Youngjae didn’t try to talk to you either?” He wondered and the raven haired shook his head once again.

“Aside from hanging out at the cabin, did you do anything?” Mark asked the other. He needed to see if he could figure out something about what Jackson had been doing.

“No? I only took care of my friend.” He claimed and Mark sighed heavily.

“Is that so? And who was that friend of yours?” Mark asked and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t believe Jackson’s story that much anymore. It was vague. He needed answers.

“He is called BamBam. I gave up on pronouncing his real name. He is from Thailand.” Jackson explained and tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It’s Kun something.” He continued. Mark could only nod. He hadn’t heard of such a name before, but on the other hand, Seoul was a huge place, sure there would be someone he hadn’t heard about before there.

“Alright.” He said and ate another bite of whatever it was Jackson had prepared to him and stifled a yawn.

“Any more questions?” Jackson asked him and Mark shook his head.

“No, but I’m going back to bed now.” He said and stretched slightly. “Do you need help with the dishes?” He asked not to be rude to his supposed guest.

“No. You can go back to bed.” Jackson told him and he did just that. He didn’t need to be told twice.


	15. C h a p t e r f o u r t e e n

"Mark! You've got to stop yourself." Jaebum reprimanded as his cup came into contact with the table, ringing too loudly in Mark's ears.

"I'm sorry _dad_." Mark responded, grimacing as he pulled his cheek off the wooden surface.

"You're randomly growling at everyone and everything. Heck even nothing at times. What the hell happened?" Jaebum asked for the nth time that day.

"It's nothing Bieber." Mark snapped clearly annoyed with his best friend. He watched Jaebum with narrowed eyes, trying to make him back off the question, but the latter stood his stance, keeping eye contact with him, no sense of being intimidated. None of them seemed to back down until someone entered their line of vision with a piece of cake and a cup of tea.

"Here's your...woah. What's going on here?" Jinyoung asked as he sat down, sliding the enormous slice of cake towards Jaebum and kept his cup of tea himself.

"Nothing." Mark snapped and crossed his arms over his chest and looked off to the side.

"Just Mark being a pain in the ass." Jaebum clarified much to Mark's dismay. He was well aware he was throwing a childish tantrum towards his best friend, but he didn't need to be outed to the said friend's boyfriend too.

"I'm sure there is something bothering Mark for him to act like that. It's not like him to be like that usually." Jinyoung said and looked at Mark expectantly. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw Jaebum opening his mouth to say something but Jinyoung just raised his finger in his direction to shut him up. Mark needed to learn that trick. No one shut Im Jaebum up with that little effort. Jinyoung had no idea how much power he could wield.

"So?" Jinyoung asked and Mark could only sigh. He didn't know what made him do it as nothing really could make him talk when he had decided not to, but Jinyoung could do more than make coffee and shut Jaebum up.

"It's Jackson." He said which made Jaebum clap his hands in a _what did I say_ manner. Jinyoung rolled his eyes at Jaebum's behavior while Mark planted his toes against his shins.

"What did he do?" Jinyoung asked in an oddly caring way. Made him sound almost like a mother Mark noted.

"I think he is lying to me." Mark said and earned a dramatic and exaggerated gasp from Jaebum from across the table. Mark rolled his eyes and opted to ignore his drama queen of a best friend.

"Why do you think that?" Jinyoung asked, infinitely better at ignoring Jaebum than Mark was.

"He said he was staying in a cabin close by the playground where we were looking for him. He said there is a cabin close by there and he had met some old fiends there. He had gotten into a fight with them because he was supposed to be dead or something like that. He said he had stayed there to watch over the one he had knocked out.

"That is plausible as far as we are aware." Jinyoung said and Jaebum nodded in agreement.

"I know! But it doesn't make sense. He doesn't even remember that Youngjae is supposed to be his best friend. How did he remember them then? What's more, why did he agree to tend to someone he doesn't know?" Mark retorted, an expression close to offense shaping his face.

"That does sound suspicious." Jinyoung agreed after little thought. "But why would he lie?" He questioned, eyeing Mark closely.

"I don't know. Same reason he would sneak off ever so often when he was still supposed to be alive?" Mark suggested and drank down the last bit of cold coffee he had left, grimacing at the foul taste. Both Jinyoung and Jaebum nodded thoughtfully at that.

 

"Never mind. I should get home. I promised Jackson to be home about an hour ago. He wouldn't allow me out for long with my concussion. Though it has already been more than enough time for it to heal again properly." He complained slightly and gave the couple a wave. "See you soon. Don't hesitate to stop by whenever." He said before he turned to leave the two behind and head home.

 

Much like Mark had predicted, Jackson was a mess when he came home. His hair was disheveled, he was trotting back and forth in the room and in his hand he kept the remote control to the TV. The other hand was running through the dark locks to emphasize the disheveled look Jackson was sporting and Mark couldn't help but smile at Jackson's distress.

"Missed me?" He questioned from the doorway, making the younger turn around instantly.

"Mark!" He exclaimed and rushed over, instantly exploring his body for any signs of being hurt or unwell, and interrogating him on what he had had to eat and if he felt alright still. Mark found it quite ridiculous. He was clearly still fine and hadn't puked out his guts nor fainted.

“Stop. Jackson, stop. Here, feel.” He said and placed Jackson’s hand on his chest, hovering just on top of his heart. “See? Still beating. I’m not dead.” He said before he removed Jackson’s hand again.

“Where were you?” The younger questioned him, arms crossed over his chest looking like one of the cops from the movie they watched the night before.

“Out with some friends.” Mark replied. He thought he was going to play a bit with Jackson and answer to his questions just as vaguely as Jackson had done before. It didn’t take many questions and vague answers before Mark noticed a tick starting in Jackson’s left eye and his voice grew more and more strained. Mark really couldn’t find it in him to care. He was going to give Jackson the same treatment as he was giving out and hopefully make the other open up a bit in return.

“That answers who you were with. _Where_ were you?” Jackson wanted to know and Mark smiled and gave a shrug.

“I already told you. I was out with some friends. You don’t need to know about every step I take.” Mark countered, not letting Jackson get to know more about his whereabouts. Their discussion ended up with Jackson stomping away in dismay and Mark sitting down on the couch, highly amused by Jackson’s antics. He reached behind the cushion behind him and pulled out the old black leather book. Taking a moment, he let his fingers study over the rough binding of the book. When he had appreciated the binding for long enough he opened the book to the page he had reached and read through the spells presented. Flipping through the next couple of spells and skimming the instructions he closed the book again. Regretting his decision, he flipped the book open again and turned pages until he reached the page with the never-ending list of names.

“Ka Yee and Yi En” He read out loud, tapping his fingers against the soft surface of his couch. He placed his chin in his palm and stared at the two most recent names. It was freaking him out he had heard of that name before. Yi En. But who was Ka Yee? Did they have the same dream as himself? In his study of the list he had laid down on the couch without himself noticing.

 

“Jacks?!” Mark called out after minutes and minutes of staring at the list of names. “Can you grab my computer for me?” He requested and he could hear how the younger padded around the apartment to achieve the said piece of electronics. It was carefully placed in Mark’s lap and Jackson sat down on top of his feet. Not that Mark cared. Now that he was on the topic of his feet they were rather cold, so Jackson was a welcomed feet warmer. He pulled the lid open and typed in his password. When the machine buzzed into life, Mark opened his favorite search tap and typed in the name after his. There had got to be something. A clue or something to go by. Everything seemed to fit into some weird puzzle, but Mark felt like he was missing all the important pieces for them to fit together. Like, parts of that puzzle could be the marks that both he and Jackson shared for some odd reason. Or that group of men he needed to make a further study of. Also he needed to look into those friends Jackson had claimed to meet with in a cabin by the playground. He needed to know who they were.

The redhead snapped his fingers in realization and he turned to face Jackson.

“Remind me of Youngjae later will you?” He requested. He didn’t even wait for an answer and instead returned to the search results. The search only brought up results from a chemistry professor in Chicago, but nothing seemed interesting enough to look into. He searched up alternate keywords but came out just as clueless as before. Frowning he placed the laptop aside on the floor and turned to look at Jackson. Then at least he could question him.

“Jacks.” He started and straightened up after placing the book down on top of the laptop. “I have something to show you.” He announced and the younger turned to look at him curiously.

“Woah!” Jackson exclaimed and reached out to tug Mark’s hands back down. Mark frowned as he had almost removed his shirt to expose himself to Jackson. He wanted to show the scar that adorned his chest. One he knew Jackson had one identical to.

“Stop it Jackson. I’m not stripping because I want you to see me naked.” He said, rolling his eyes. Jackson on the other hand heaved a sigh and leaned back on the couch.

“Good. I just thought…” He trailed off as Mark’s shirt was disposed on the ground. Mark observed as the younger swallowed a couple of times before he was able to speak.

“You have that too?” Jackson spoke and pointed in the general direction of his chest. Mark noticed how the other’s hand was shaking as it was aimed at him. He nodded slowly in response afraid too quick movements would scare Jackson off. It didn’t take Jackson more than a second to rip off his own shirt and revealed the mark on his upper left arm. Mark had known Jackson had the said mark. Jaebum had told him so when he first heard of the younger. But he hadn’t seen it until then. And obviously Jackson hadn’t been aware he had one.

“Yeah. I do. I knew you have one too already.” He admitted, lifting his hand to rub at his neck sheepishly. He saw how Jackson’s face twisted into one resembling disgust and he quickly raised his hands defensively. “Jaebum told me once.” He quickly added and Jackson instantly looked more comfortable yet still weirded out.

 

“Youngjae.” Mark looked up from his homework when he heard the name of their friends being spoken. He gave Jackson a quizzical look.

“You told me to remind you of him later, which would be now.” Jackson explained and Mark snapped his fingers in realization.

“Of course! Thanks.” He said and reached for his phone.

 

To: Youngjae

From: Mark

Hey. I have a couple of questions about Jackson. Do you have time to meet up later?

 

He put the phone aside and resumed studying. He didn’t study much though. His mind kept wandering back to Jackson’s former best friend. But he hadn’t answered him yet and it was annoying him. It was getting late and he was no closer to getting to meet with him. He closed his book and leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh. It didn’t take more than a second or the younger to react to it. Ever since he had knocked himself out, Jackson had been paying extra attention to him. He had made sure Mark wouldn’t exert himself in any way.

“What’s wrong?” Jackson’s voice could be heard along with his footsteps padding over the floor towards him.

“Nothing. I’m just waiting for Youngjae to reply to a text. And this stuff for school isn’t exactly easy.” He said frowning slightly. He ran a hand through his hair for a good measure. He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. A second later, Jackson’s fingers were working through his hair and gave his scalp a light rub.

“You shouldn’t work so hard, Mark. You should make sure to get plenty of rest. Your head is still sensitive.” He reprimanded him. Mark couldn’t help but sigh again.

“It has been more than enough time now.” He claimed but did nothing to remove Jackson’s hands. They did feel quite nice. Instead he kept his eyes shut and released a more relaxed sigh.

“You know…Now that you mention Youngjae. He has one of those signs too.”


	16. C h a p t e r f i f t e e n

“Youngjae has what?” Mark asked baffled by the other’s words. He stared at Jackson in bewilderment as the younger shifted his weight from one leg to the other before nodding.

“He has that mark too.” Jackson clarified, looking much like he was being scolded.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Mark said accusingly, Jackson only getting smaller and smaller in front of him.

“I didn’t think it would be important until you showed me yours. And I didn’t remember until now.” He defended himself before taking a couple of steps backwards. Mark followed, well aware he was getting into the former dead man’s personal space.

“And how come you’re that, I don’t know, stupid?” Mark breathed almost like a sneer. Jackson scoffed at the insult and pushed Mark away, making him stumble backwards until he was sitting in the couch.

“I don’t care what you think of me, Mark. Not everyone has the brains like yours, but that doesn’t make you entitled to make fun of them.” Jackson said, starting at Mark with hard eyes. “But if you really are that smart, then solve this mystery on your own.” Jackson said before he grabbed his coat and left the apartment, his initial worry for Mark long gone. Mark stared baffled at the closed door, thoughts running wild. How did Jackson figure out he was trying to solve a mystery? He thought he had been subtle about it. Not exactly secretive, but at least subtle. Just then his phone buzzed with a text and he fished it out from underneath himself.

 

To: Mark

From: Youngjae

Hey, sorry about the late reply. Yeah sure. I’m off in 30 minutes. Meet me out front then?

 

To: Youngjae

From: Mark

No problem. You were working after all. I’ll be there.

 

To: Mark

From: Youngjae

Cool.

 

Mark was standing outside the museum where Youngjae worked and waited patiently for his shift to end. He glanced at his phone for the time. It was five minutes since Youngjae was supposed to be off from his shift. He was just about to unlock his phone and call the man when the doors slid open and revealed the anticipated person.

“Hey,” Youngjae greeted him and Mark greeted back before turning to walk down the street.

“I saw a café further down the street on the way here, should we go there while we talk?” Mark suggested. “My offer of course.” He added when Youngjae seemed hesitant about it. That had Youngjae agreeing. Together they walked towards the café Mark was talking about. They took a seat and Mark went to place their orders, waiting for them to be made for them. He gave the other his desired beverage and sat down into the seat opposite him. Mark took a couple of sips of his cup before he fixed his eyes on Youngjae again.

“So, Jackson.” Youngjae started when he caught Mark looking. The older nodded and licked his lips free of the cream on his lips.

“Yeah, Jackson.” Mark confirmed and placed his cup down. “I have a few questions. He told me he had met up with old friends. Do you have any idea who those friends might be?” Mark asked the younger. Youngjae seemed to think long and hard about who it could possibly be so Jackson thought he should help a little more. “They stayed by a cabin close to a playground.”

 

The look on Youngjae’s face was no joke. Mark was staring at him for the seventh minute and the boy had yet to move a muscle. He was as if frozen in time. The redhead had tried a few times to get in contact with the younger but had given up after a dozen or so attempts. Instead he could only look at Youngjae worriedly and hope he would get back to his senses soon. When they entered the 11th minute without any kind of movement from the other, Mark got a lot more worried. Youngjae hadn’t even blinked in the time. He really was as if frozen. Mark got up to the counter and requested a glass of water, one that none so gently was thrown in the younger’s face. That seemed to bring the other back to earth as he jolted back, spluttering offended.

“What the hell was that for?!” Youngjae exclaimed as his chair shrieked over the floor and he stood up with a force that had said chair wobbling, threatening to fall backwards. Mark instantly placed the glass down and reached across the table to pull Youngjae back in his seat.

“You’ve been out for what, twelve minutes. You didn’t even blink. Tell what the hell is going on.” He ordered. He would have said requested, but it was a downright order. He didn’t leave the other with a choice. “And while you do so, explain why you have this mark too.” Mark said and produced a picture of his brand on his phone. He had planned that question and made it so he didn’t have to strip anywhere in public. Youngjae looked at the picture, eyes flickering to Mark and then back at the picture.

“This isn’t Jackson’s.” He pointed out, looking at Mark closely. Mark nodded in confirmation and then nodded towards the phone.

“Tell me.” He requested but Youngjae kept looking at him.

“Is it yours?” He asked and Mark inhaled sharply before he nodded again. Youngjae looked down and muttered something under his breath before looking back up at Mark.

“I don’t know how I got it or why. I just know it isn’t a good sign that you have it.” He said and leaned back in his chair. “And I don’t know how Jackson could know about his old friends.” He continued and Mark sighed with defeat.

“If I find out you’re lying about this, I’m going to kick your ass.” Mark threatened before his head dropped onto the table. He was no closer to figuring out his mystery.

“Understandable. But I have to warn you. You might not want to go back to Jackson.” Youngjae said. Cold ran down Mark’s spine and his head snapped up to look at the other in disbelief.

“How can you warn me when you don’t know anything?” Mark asked, eyes narrowing at the other.

“Because I, just like you, am looking for answers in this. But something tells me you know something I don’t.” Youngjae said and gave Mark a scrutinizing gaze. The older could only nod in confirmation. “But like I said, I don’t think you should go back to Jackson for now.” He said and Mark nodded. He had to trust Youngjae at this. Youngjae had known Jackson for longer than him, though he hadn’t noticed anything weird about Jackson lately, but Youngjae must have known what he was talking about when he said something like that.

“Where should I go then?” He asked and Youngjae smiled.

“You can stay at my place. I can borrow you clothes and stuff and we can buy you a toothbrush on the way.” Youngjae suggested. Mark again, couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement. They left the café together and got Mark a toothbrush on the way like Youngjae had suggested. They weren’t really talking. Mark was too worried about Jackson to actually think or talk properly with Youngjae. Whenever the younger would attempt, Mark wouldn’t reply until Youngjae jabbed him in the side and repeated whatever he had said once again. He also wondered what Youngjae knew that he didn’t, and what he knew that Youngjae didn’t. Maybe if they combined knowledge, they would get closer to their goal of solving the mystery. It was a brief hope, and Mark was going to cling to it. He wanted this whole thing over and done with. When Mark opened the door to Youngjae’s apartment someone stood up from the bed and bowed ninety degrees at him. “Hello. I’m Yugyeom. I’m Youngjae’s brother.” He said, introducing himself. Mark was no later to follow, introducing himself to the stranger too. Though the name sounded familiar and his voice too.

“Have we met before?” He wondered, looking at the youngest. Yugyeom shook his head confused and looked up at Youngjae who had just closed the door after entering. Mark’s eyes followed the youngest and noticed that Youngjae seemed a little tense but shook his head.

“No, you haven’t. It’s your first time meeting.” He said, making Mark doubt his memory. Maybe it was just similar voices? He could easily mix voices up if he hadn’t talked with them a lot.

Mark stood inside the door, looking everywhere but at the two other occupants of the room. He couldn’t shrug off the feeling he had seen Yugyeom elsewhere before. The awkwardness in the room was palpable. Mark was sure he could cut a slice of it and it didn’t help that when he looked to the side he found Youngjae flailing at Yugyeom but not saying anything. Mark gave them a questioning look, eyeing the both of them in turns. None of them seemed to want to answer his unspoken question and Mark shrugged it off. Probably some brother discussion or something, so Mark brushed it off.

“So, let’s see about that mark?” Mark said, trying to cut through the awkwardness.

“Oh, you’re going to study? I’ll see if BamBam wants to hang out. I don’t want to disturb.” Yugyeom said, inching towards the door, eyes never leaving Youngjae. Once the youngest was out, Youngjae nodded in agreement and headed towards the small dinner table by the window.

“You coming?” Youngjae questioned as he pulled out his books. Mark followed suit, sitting down next to the other. Mark raised his shirt and showed the mark to Youngjae, pursing his lips.

“Okay, tell me what this looks like. Anything it could possibly relate to.” He requested and looked down at his own chest. He reached for his phone to get the picture of his mark so he could analyze it too. He looked at it closely, twisting and turning his phone in front of him before he widened his eyes in realization.

“It’s a flower. It’s not a crown, it’s a flower. I don’t remember what it’s called but it’s a flower.” Mark said, dropping his shirt back down to point and show what he meant on the screen of his phone.

“I see what you mean. It’s a lotus flower.” Youngjae said, instantly lifting the screen on his laptop, typing in his password. “This is good.” He muttered to himself and Mark leaned over Youngjae’s shoulder in excitement. He wondered what the other would find.

“So, the lotus is a symbol of purity.” Youngjae read out loud, Mark reading the words too.

“Symbol of purity.” Mark repeated, eyes skimming over the page. “Awakening too.” He noted too. He reached for a piece of paper from Youngjae’s printer and started jutting down information about the symbolism of the lotus flower.

“It grows in mud and always comes up clean,” Youngjae read out loud and Mark continued to write down the information of the lotus flower.

“What about this part?” Mark asked, pointing to the curl underneath the lotus flower. “I doubt it’s the stem.” He said and pursed his lips in thought.

“I don’t think so either. The stem would go from the center of the flower.” Youngjae agreed and looked at the other deep in thought. “Or maybe it doesn’t have a function? Maybe it’s just there to complete the flower?” Youngjae said and tilted his head slightly. “I don’t see what that curl could be.” He muttered and Mark nodded in reluctant agreement. He felt it meant something but what he didn’t know. And he didn’t know what they should search for either to get the answers for it.

“What else do we know about these people? Aside from their names?” Youngjae asked and Mark pursed his lips.

“Not really a lot. Let’s see, we have their name, and there is something about a knife and a key. And then of course the lotus flower.” He replied, tilting his head as he wrote down all their information. But that didn’t keep them from searching. For several hours they were sitting together, hunched over the small table and searched for any clue they could work with. But even as the clock ticked past midnight, they hadn’t gotten any closer to an answer.

Youngjae stretched and stifled a yawn before he looked at Mark.

“It’s getting late.” He said and looked towards the bed. “Why don’t we go to sleep and work on it again tomorrow?” He suggested and Mark nodded in agreement.

“That sounds like a good idea.” He said and stood up. “I’ll go wash up.” He said and grabbed the bag containing his toothbrush and disappeared into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, mind filled with everything they had been working on throughout the evening. Something added up and made sense, other things only made them more confused than they already were. Rinsing his mouth, he stepped out of the bathroom, walking around the bed and settled down next to the younger.

“I’m going to sleep right here.” He claimed and pulled the pillow up under his head and upper chest. “Whether you like it or not.” He added. It didn’t take long before Mark was fast asleep. He didn’t even notice Youngjae coming into bed with him too.

 

Mark woke up, not nearly as comfortable as he had been when he went to bed. He yawned tiredly into his arm and stretched his limbs out. He wondered why he felt like he had been sleeping on stone. And had Youngjae opened the window during the night? Closing his mouth after his yawn, Mark drew in a breath through his nose. Definitely not Youngjae’s room. Too moist and rusty. Panicking, Mark attempted to sit up, heavy shackles keeping him down on what he now recognized as a stone surface. The shackles were like screaming in his ears and the rusty smell burned his nostrils. He wanted to see where he was, but he saw nothing but darkness. Blindfolded and bound, Mark trashed and turned to the best of his abilities, trying to get free, but the cuffs wouldn’t budge against his strength.

Gasping for air and soaked in sweat, Mark finally fell limp against the surface where he was laying. In the distance he heard a faint dripping sound over his own breathing. He heard steps approaching him and his whole body tensed in fear.

“Welcome back.” A familiar voice greeted him. He didn’t remember from where, but he remembered. “Welcome back, Yi En.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is now I crawl into hiding? Yeah, well. I don't really have much to say because anything I seem to want to say are spoilers. So I'm just going to leave it like this and hope none of you are going to kill me in your sleep <3 
> 
> Remember if you kill me you won't get to know the ending! 
> 
> Hehh. Okay *backs out slowly and makes a mad dash for the woods to hide*


	17. C h a p t e r s i x t e e n

Mark hadn’t noticed until then, but he felt a cold chill envelop his body, making his skin erupt with stubborn goosebumps. A disgusting smell of moist fungus, something rotting and metallic reached his nose and made him physically sick. His stomach contracted and acidic bile rose in his throat. The metallic smell was somewhat sweet and maybe a bit rusty. Mark concluded he was near rusty metal from the smell.

He didn’t know for how long he had been laying there. It could have been a second, or it could be hours. He felt his muscles tense under his skin as adrenaline surged through his veins with blinding haste. His fingers moved on the surface where he was laying. It was cold, like stone, and completely smooth with the exception of small random straight scratches perpendicular to his position.  
He was met with a blinding, green light. It was mysterious and didn’t seem to have a source. It was like the light came from above but there were no lamps to emit the glow. There were no windows nor any other sources of natural light. The only visible sources of it were two lamp posts next to him, but they let out white light. Not green like the hue of the room.  
The room was creeping him out. If he had to compare it to something he knew of, he would say it was an abandoned underground church. The two rows of run-down benches in former white marble that created what would be the aisle that underlined his point together with columns down each side. The columns were overgrown with plants similar to vines and appeared even more dark and discomforting than they would in the wild. At least from what he could see.

The first thing Mark noticed was the shackle tied around his neck. It was heavy on his throat, restricting his air supply but not enough to cause him harm. He felt how the metal it was made of was cut in two, exposing his adam's apple. Other cuffs were tied around his wrists and ankles and pulled him down heavily. He didn’t stand a chance to move like this.  
He gathered all his strength and attempted to sit up again, but a loud clattering of chains against the stone surface kept him down. He could barely lift his shoulders an inch. He couldn’t hold himself up for long before he fell back onto the surface with a thud.

The sound of people singing, men singing, reached him and his eyes widened in fear. Through the doorway came a group of men, walking in two rows nearing the man that had spoken to Mark in the first place. All of the men were naked and completely stripped of hair. They looked creepily pale under the green light and long shadows surrounded them as they came closer. Mark noticed unevenness in their skin. Marks that could be suspected to be caused by whip-lashes. The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine and nervous sweat forming on his forehead. Everything about the situation seemed horrifyingly similar to his nightmare.

The approaching men parted on either side of the supposed leader, forming a semicircle around the platform where Mark had been placed. Mark took the time to count the group and made a headcount of 13 men. Thirteen naked men. They didn’t stop singing until the last two men had gotten in place in the very ends of the semicircle.  
The leader took a step onto the platform and started speaking.

“Yi En. How wonderful it is to finally meet you.” He spoke, arms rising at his sides. He was standing with his arms out, palms up, much like he was praying to the heavens. “I see you understand me this time.” He commented, smile sweet as ever.

The man stepped closer to him and Mark attempted to scurry back, but the chains held him down successfully. He was trapped. The man cupped his cheek with his palm. Unlike his dream, it didn’t hold warmth. It was burning cold. The sensation had Mark jerk. Everything had been like his dream. But not this. The man leaned closer to him and Mark closed his eyes in knowledge of what was to come. He felt breath fan over his face before he was forced into a kiss. He turned his head and broke the one-sided kiss. Bile rose in his throat again as the man forced him into a kiss again. It didn’t last long. The man stood again, hovering above him and spoke:

“Death by the hands of the Suuri Joukko, we sacrifice a gifted warrior for our women to bring birth to many new. Unable to use the essence of the mortal for himself, he shall bring it to the Goddess of Fertility. With the sacrifice of the innocent to carry the essence of our strongest, Yi En shall ensure the continuation of blood-strings among a dying people. Let him prepare.”

The two men then standing in the middle walked up next to the leader. One of them handed him a knife and Mark’s pupils dilated with fear when he saw the curved and jagged blade and its jade handle. Unlike his dream, the knife never made contact with his legs, nor did it cut between his ribs. It was raised straight above his head. The leader stared straight into Mark’s eyes. Slowly he lowered the knife towards his face, his sweet smile transforming into a sneer the closer it got. He eased the knife down next to Mark’s head and Mark watched as the handle lowered with surprising ease. It was like the knife was cutting the stone like soft butter. The shackles around Mark’s body released and fell to the floor with heavy clunks. The redhead pushed himself off the table and onto the floor. Surprisingly, he was met with no resistance from any of the 13 naked men around him. Not even the leader tried to stop him from running. Instead, the leader took the key from the second man and pushed it into a hole in the table. Mark heard a loud creaking behind him and he turned around. Turned his back on the men watching him. He had been prepared for pretty much everything. Monsters, challenges, everything. Everything but the sight of Youngjae, Yugyeom, Jaebum, Jinyoung, some kid he didn’t know and Jackson enter the green hues of the underground church. Mark was overwhelmed by a feeling of utter betrayal, staring at his best friend, his boyfriend, Jackson and Youngjae in turns, he felt tears rise to his eyes. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, not believing what he was seeing and experiencing. He should have seen it. He should have seen it coming. None of them even spared Mark a glance as they approached the men behind him. Jackson even brushed his shoulder as they passed, like he wasn’t even there. The walked up so they stood between two naked men each, only Jaebum standing alone with the leader of Suuri Joukko and left two to the right of him standing alone. Mark got a sick feeling to his stomach. He probably belonged to stand there.

“How do you like them?” The leader spoke and watched Mark carefully. The redhead stared at the scene unfold and he made a cautious step towards the group.

“Disgusting.” Mark said honestly. His best friends had betrayed him, had been playing a part of a dark nightmare behind his back.

“You’d be surprised.” The leader agreed and nodded slowly to himself. “Jaebum, I think it’s time you reveal our secret.” He said and Jaebum turned around to face the leader. He was handed an object and Mark’s eyes followed the younger’s every move. He walked behind the alter where Mark had just been tied and inserted the object to something. He came back with the book and flask of magic liquid Mark was sure he had stored securely in his room.

“I see you recognize them?” The leader commented and Mark nodded dumbly. “Then I’m sure you know how to make us speak the truth.” He continued and Mark nodded again.

Mark took a deep breath and approached the altar. He needed to know the truth. He couldn’t just leave now and pretend everything was fine. Mark grabbed the small perfume flask and aimed it at Jaebum.

“Tell me what’s going on.” He requested. He didn’t use the flask. He didn’t use magic. But Jaebum still opened his mouth.

“It was always the plan.” He answered and looked at Mark. “You were always supposed to end up here. But I’m not your friend.” Jaebum said. Mark felt like he had been stabbed in the back and straight through his heart at Jaebum’s words. He stumbled backwards a couple of steps from the impact of his words.

“W-what?” He croaked out to stare at Jaebum in disbelief. “A-after everything?” He asked, not believing what he was hearing.

“After nothing.” Jaebum corrected him and Mark shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Mark shook his head almost desperately, trying to set his mind straight again.

“Im Jaebum. Tell me what the hell you’re talking about.” Mark pleaded his best friend only to be met by a raised brow. I’m not your friend. This is.” He said and twisted another key inside the table. Seemingly appearing from thin air, showed six chairs in the aisle of the church. In the front sat another Jackson. Behind him another Jaebum and another Jinyoung hot on his heels. Another Youngjae right behind him followed by another Yugyeom and lastly another unknown person, identical to the one at the altar.

Mark didn’t know what to say. Nor do. He stared, eyes changing from one group of boys to another. At first he hadn’t noticed, but when he did, everything seemed to add up to Mark.

“You…” he started, voice shaky and finger pointing accusingly at the leader of Suuri Joukko. “You kidnapped my friends. Created doubles. And kept the originals captured.” He said. It was obvious. Even to someone like Mark. The leader only laughed and nodded his head.

“I thought that was obvious.” He commented, Mark feeling like it was to tease him.

“How?” Mark demanded to know. He knew he had no right to demand and no weapon to support him, but he did anyways.

“Easy. They all went through the same as you. Only way easier. You see. You were meant to meet your loved one here. But we couldn’t find him.” The leader explained and Mark snorted softly.

“Assuming I’m gay?” He asked them and shook his head disapprovingly.

“We know who you love. But the thing is. We already used him.” He said, eyes landing on the Jackson on the chair. “We got him first. He was in love with Youngjae at the time.” He explained and Mark’s face fell. “They all went through the same as you did in Los Angeles.” He continued to explain. Mark’s feet ran cold. That dream was real? Did all of his friends have the lotus flower somewhere.

“We tried to see if we could sacrifice you by me. But obviously we failed.” The leader continued. Mark stared at the leader now, soaking up every part of the story he was being told. It felt surreal.

“For the ritual to complete, you are to have sex with the one you truly love.”

Mark’s eyes locked with Jackson’s words and his world started spinning. He needed to find a way to prevent this from happening. He might love Jackson, but this wasn’t how Jackson was supposed to find out, and they surely weren’t going to have their first time in some disgusting filthy church. Mark threw the green flask into the floor, fumes spreading everywhere in an angry spur, turning into a green fog hovering above the floor. Mark had no idea what he had done or how it worked, but the fog cleared a way straight to Jackson and Jaebum. He grabbed their hands and the fog showed way to Jinyoung. Jaebum reached back. Contact opened for Yugyeom and Mark knew how it worked. It would show way to the loved one. Mark loved Jackson. He loved Jaebum as a friend. Jaebum loved Jinyoung. Jinyoung loved Youngjae. How, he still had to find out, Youngjae loved his brother and Yugyeom loved whoever was behind him. United by hands, the fog cleared through the room.

 

AN:// And I'm finally back with an update *^* It didn't take that long, but still almost two months and again, I'm terribly sorry. I had exams, school and work kicking my ass and this time my ass was kickd so hard I fell and broke my arm. Which hopefully means I'll get down to writing a lot more again. But once more; no promises.  
Things are happening, and hopefully this does answer some of your questions about the story, a lot more questions are about to be answered in the upcoming chapters again, so don't worry if your question wasn't answered this time.  
Anyways, leave me pretty comments. Comments are encouragements and give me life <3 I'll be back!  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have just been made aware of me forgetting to update the story here and I'm terribly sorry!   
> I hope this chapter will keep you entertained for a short while as I work on the next chapter.


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